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rriving without warning like a Balkan curse are Erdve, a monstrous blackened hardcore band from Lithuania. Formed in 2016, the collective comprised of seasoned local musicians – Vaidotas Darulis (guitars, vocals), Kristijonas Nenartavicius (guitars), Karolis Urbanavicius (bass) and Valdas Voveraitis (drums) – wasted zero time in writing and self-recording their first full-length, Vaitojimas.

“For some time, we had a vision and musical ideas for a band with a massive, mind-ravaging sound, experimenting with many soundscapes from various genres that we all like by maintaining consistent key characteristics and attitude,” says Vaidotas, who in addition to punishing riffs and roars, also handled the album’s production and its abstract artwork. “The idea was to make a very dynamic, interesting and emotional sound.”

Inspired by the respective boundary-pushing rosters of Hydra Head and Neurot, as well as the soul-crushing masterworks of Michael Gira’s Swans and Aussie jazz trio The Necks amongst others, Erdve’s music is as frighteningly intense and intimidating as you’d expect from a band influenced by artists of such erudite depth and unwavering integrity. “Basically, intensity is the most important tool for expression for us,” confirms second guitarist Kristijonas, “and we believe that live performances are the best format to express that feeling.”

Eager to learn more about the relatively unknown Lithuanian live metal scene where Erdve’s members honed their skills in a plethora of bands over the years, we are told that it’s quite small but a few active communities do exist to cater towards niche audiences with a direct interest in heavy sounds.

“Unfortunately, this is not helping to expand the scene to the next level which makes it unattractive for many bigger