ARTACH

track-list:
Frozen Factory
The Black Hole
Super-Cybernetic
Atomic Cabaret

Artach are:
Fíochmhar – drums, vocals
Sruthán – guitar, bass

discography:
2020 Chronicles of a Black Winter Full-length
2020 Night Songs Single
2021 Sworn to Avenge Full-length
2021 Countess Bathory Single
2023 Hell on Halloween Single
2024 From the Frozen Vault Compilation
2024 Sgrios EP

Killchain (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“With the jagged band name and bleak setting you can look upon the cover and get a taste of what’s in store, then you add in the hooded man with the sword and your ideas may be subverted, perhaps not. This is the real genius of Artach. They are making music that crosses genres; a bit of black metal, death metal, old school horns up fists of air grabbing metal as well.”
NOIZZE (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“Artach are one of the most interesting black metal bands to have come out of Canada in recent years. The unique meshing of first and second wave black metal styles alongside elements of progressive black metal creates an interesting and intriguing album. The band’s enjoyment for creating and love for their craft really shines through, it is refreshingly authentic and invigorating, daring to explore things in their own way instead of adding more footprints to an already well trodden black metal path.”
No Clean Singing (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“The song (‘She Gathers Leaves’) is a thrill-ride, but also reveals elements of gothic witchiness. The raw vocals are caught up in a paroxysm of fierce, crazed adoration, venting cold-blooded roars as well as braying, throat-stripping howls and cut-throat screams. The full-throttle drumming is tumultuous, a changing array that hammers, gallops, rocks, thunders, and blasts. Urgently rising chords provide a recurring theme, surrounded by flame-throwing riffs that dart, pulsate, and spasm, drawing on elements of thrash and classic heavy metal as well as black metal. Ecstatically swirling leads further add to the wildness of the song. A mood of mystery does surface in the track’s brief intro, and that mood surfaces again in the song’s back half, leading into a necromantic guitar solo that takes flight in scintillating fashion.”
Metal Rules (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“Check out Artach for a truly epic journey into the wildernesses that populate the dark fantasy land conjured through their excellent music. This sophomore album tells me that this is a band that will be releasing much good material for years to come and will soon be headlining the epic black metal stages or charts both online and at festivals. An excellent job all round.”
Games, Brrraaains And A Head-Banging Life:
“‘Sworn to Avenge’ is a mind-assaulting record… You’ll hear the influences of classic black metal bands like Venom, early-Bathory as well as elements of the second wave; Immortal, Darkthrone etc. Ugly and uninviting stuff but very satisfying if you enjoy the gloomier side of metal… It’s a mammoth listen and does take its toll, but the array of ideas that Artach showcase does keep things interesting. An hour slips by, the cold has sunk deep into the bones and you’ll be left wondering if you’ll ever be warm again.”
The Metal Crypt (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“Very melodic black metal, yet aggressive and heavy with undeniable influences from plain old straightforward heavy metal, so while things are definitely ‘black metal’, there’s a lot of discipline at play and this is definitely not your average raw, chaotic black metal. There’s order to the chaos on ‘Sworn to Avenge’, but that doesn’t prevent it from being aggressive and sometimes kind of depressing and melancholic despite not descending into the slower playing usually associated with those stylings. It’s a rollercoaster of ‘fuck yeah!’ and ‘kill me now’ (in sort of a good way).”
– Cavedweller Music (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“Now for some blackened thrash from Canada’s Artach, a band with an unusual take on the genre and a very unique sound. The good news is that if you’re a thrash fan you’re going to like this album. The even better news is that if you’re a blackened thrash fan you’re going to love this album. All of your favourite elements are present, plenty of riffs, a great blend between groove, rawness and aggression and raw, high energy vocals. There is something for everyone here which is why I can see the album having a broad appeal.”
Heavy NFLD (‘Sworn to Avenge’):
“Instrumentally I think Artach have pushed the boundary of what they achieved on their previous record. The structure of the songs here are more experimental and incredibly diverse, especially with the aforementioned ‘Endless Tundra’. The guitars push up against the limits of what one would typically expect from black metal while also keeping a foot firmly planted in that world, so as not to stray too far from the conventions that make the genre what it is. It’s an interesting middle ground and I’d like to see Artach continue to push these ideas further on their next release. This album as a whole sees the band try different things and generally improve upon the formula established on their debut, and I look forward to seeing what they do next.”
Brutalism (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’):
“The album is definitely black metal – but there are some really nice elements in that that makes this author think the musicians are truly having some fun. In particular, ‘Frozen In Time’, exhibits this by delivering several rhythmic textures and a variety of guitar techniques. The vocals are also just well placed in this track in both timing and style.”
HeavyNFLD (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’):
“Artach have overnight become one of the most interesting bands to come out of the Newfoundland metal scene in some time, not only for the Darkthrone-esque duality of their lineup, but for their genuine appreciation for all things grim and frostbitten and their unique flavour of first wave meets second wave black metal. If you’ve not given ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’ a listen yet, give it a spin or two. It’s definitely worth checking out.”
Metal-Rules (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’):
“Artach is a mysterious two-piece Black Metal band who have issued their debut ‘CHRONICLES OF A BLACK WINTER’. Artach have spawned some fierce raw and primeval Black Metal. I’m hearing lots of classic Hellhammer/Bathory/Venom and maybe even dipping into second wave stuff like Immortal. It is all very black and grim the way this type of stuff should be.”
Metal Temple (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’):
“Like the album’s title may suggest, this album’s atmosphere is as cold and bleak as the North winds. The album is very riff focused with modern production, but it isn’t too clean—I actually really enjoyed the production. Vocally, it is very unique and [not] just the same ol endless blackened screams.”
Astral Noize (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’):
“A solid dose of second wave black metal.”
Rating: ⅘ – The Metal Crypt (Album Review – ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’)
“This is an album that took a little time to grow on me and after more listens than I care to count, I still hear little twists that I hadn’t heard before. Pretty cool debut from a band that’s doing its own thing in a genre where bands are often content to imitate.”

Artach:
“This EP ‘Sgrios’ might surprise some listeners as we took on an experimental direction, a black metal spin on industrial metal sounds. Bands like Rammstein, Fear Factory and Pain for example. Think of a mash of styles that we haven’t heard much of. Something fresh and original. Not a ton of Black Metal bands will have Rammstein-esque synth guitar sounds, tremolo-picked riffs and harsh black metal vocals. However, it’s still us and still has all the elements from our previous releases. This is just a taste of what’s to come as we work on our upcoming 3rd full-length that will be released this fall and will once again be our signature sound.”
“Lyrically, the topics explored on the ‘SGRIOS’ EP cover technology, apocalyptic themes and some tongue in cheek suggestive topics. Musically you will hear industrial metal through the Artach blackened-thrash lens.”
‘Frozen Factory’:
“Environmental collapse due to greed – the most ‘Artach-sounding’ song on here.”
‘The Black Hole’:
“The perils of deep space exploration with suggestive themes.”
‘Super-Cybernetic’:
“Sex between two robots.”
‘Atomic Cabaret’:
“‘Atomic Cabaret’, is a dark reflection on the development and catastrophic consequences of nuclear technology, highlighting the destructive potential, moral dread and existential uncertainty of the atomic age. Musically summons Rammstein vibes.”
Artach about the cover:
“The ‘SGRIOS’ cover has us in robot form in a frozen industrial wasteland. It fits with the lyrical topics for the EP perfectly.”
Artach is a two-man black metal band based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
“Sruthán never played bass before Artach – just guitar. Fíochmhar never sang in a band before – just played drums.”
Being from the foggiest, snowiest, wettest, windiest and gloomiest capital city in Canada, one should not be surprised that this fuels the creation of Black Metal.
Their inspiration comes from the land, nature, the bleak weather of the Canadian North and influential black metal bands.
“Many of the songs are about nature, and many of those involve winter. We live in the coldest, windiest, snowiest, foggiest, a capital provincial city in Canada. We’d give many Norwegian cities a challenge for gloomiest weather. As a result, the climate and nature are themes found in most songs.”
Since the duo’s formation in the spring of 2019, Artach has been consistently releasing new music.
“Artach doesn’t rehearse or jam, we just write and record constantly (sadly this was slowed down a bit in recent times due to lock-downs due to the raging pandemic). When a song is written, it gets recorded, then we move on to the next one. We’ve probably forgotten how to play the earlier songs as once a song has been finalized we don’t waste time jamming on it as we are not a live band. We move right onto the next song and keep the creative process flowing. For this reason, at any one time, there can be 10+ song ideas in various states of composition.”
The band’s debut album ‘Chronicles of a Black Winter’ was released digitally during February 2020 and later unleashed on physical CD by Depressive Illusions Records.
The full length contained 9 songs of extreme, harsh and haunting sounds, which included a cover of Celtic Frost’s ‘Jewel Throne’.
In 2021, the band returned with their next offering ‘Sworn To Avenge’, a full-length scourge of raw and relentless bruting gloom.
From the calming blasts and savagery of album opener ‘Tuiteam an Duine’ to the ingrained black metal blast beats and headbanging riffage on ‘Shimmer’ to the 20-minute exploration for the epic ‘Endless Tundra’ about the doomed Franklin expedition of 1846 to the Immortal-esque riffing and unorthodox exorcism of album closer ‘Winter’s End’, Artach delivers a 65-minute cold deliverance of their surroundings.
“The band’s name, member names and even some song titles are in Gaelic. It’s not that we speak the language, but because the historical roots of our island involve the immigration of people from Ireland, Scotland and England. Therefore rather than re-tread the themes of the Scandinavian and Norse lands, which have been overdone in black/pagan/folk metal, we decided to stick with something more authentic to our own roots.”