Vardan

A prolific one-man depressive suicidal black metal act based out of Italy, Vardan (real name unknown) crafts atmospheric blasts of despondency that invoke names like Striborg, Nortt, Mortiis, and Panopticon. Vardan's first full-length LP, Hidden in a Tomb, was released in 2007. A split LP with Striborg arrived in 2010, followed by a grim volley of full-length outings (the group averages four or five a year), with highlights arriving via Lifeless Shadow (2013), The Woods Is My Coffin (2014), Despicable Broken Hope (2015), and From the Pale Moonlight (2017). Three volumes of archival material, Nostalgia: Archive of Failures, Pts. 1-3, were also released in 2017. ~ James Christopher Monger