Northern Silence Productions

Northern Silence Productions is an independent German record label and mail-order business based in Annaberg-Buchholz, Saxony. Founded in 2003, it has built a reputation as one of the more durable European specialists in black metal and its related subgenres — atmospheric, pagan, folk, Viking and depressive black metal among them. The label both signs and releases its own artists and operates a substantial online shop that distributes its own catalogue alongside selected third-party titles, patches, pins and apparel. The label's identity is closely tied to the extreme-metal underground. Its catalogue is dominated by CD, digipak, digiCD, LP and limited vinyl editions, often issued in small, numbered pressings aimed at collectors. Typical releases include full-length albums, EPs, compilations of older demos and unreleased material, and reissues. The shop also carries merchandise such as woven patches, metal pins and T-shirts. Prices on the official store are quoted in euros, and the label ships internationally, with a notable customer base in the United States. Distribution in physical retail and wholesale channels is handled through Soulfood, a German music distributor, while in the United States a large share of Northern Silence titles is made available through specialist mail-order partners such as Hell's Headbangers, Out of Season and Blastbeats Vinyl. The label actively directs US customers to those partners to reduce shipping costs, and its website carries detailed shipping notices — for example, that small "Warenpost" packages can no longer be sent to the US or Puerto Rico, while DHL parcel shipping remains possible. As a privately held independent, Northern Silence Productions does not disclose financial results or ownership structure publicly. Its output is curated rather than mass-market: releases are announced as "Latest Additions" on the homepage and are typically available in limited quantities. The label's roster and shop listings include acts such as Elffor, Nokturnal Mortum, Kroda, Bergrizen, Atronos, Mavorim, Malum, Kvad, Hjemsøkt, Granitader, Cum Mortem, Ainzamkait, Ifernach, Tårfödd, Forest Silence, Sargoth, Seeds of Hate and others, reflecting a broad Scandinavian, Central European and international black-metal network. In short, Northern Silence Productions is a niche but well-established European extreme-metal label: part record company, part specialist retailer, serving a global underground audience from a small Saxon town.

Northern Silence Productions was founded in 2003 in Annaberg-Buchholz, a town in the Erzgebirge region of Saxony, Germany. From the outset it positioned itself as an independent label dedicated to black metal and its subgenres, rather than to a broader rock or pop catalogue. This focus placed it within a network of small European extreme-metal labels that emerged or consolidated in the 1990s and 2000s, serving a dedicated underground audience through mail order, specialist distributors and later online retail. The label's early identity was built on physical formats — CDs, digipaks and vinyl — often produced in limited pressings. Over time it expanded its operation into a full online shop, selling both its own releases and selected titles from other labels, alongside merchandise such as patches, pins and shirts. This dual role of label and retailer is common among niche metal imprints and allowed Northern Silence to reach customers directly, bypassing some traditional retail channels. Distribution of Northern Silence releases in physical wholesale channels has been handled by Soulfood, a German music distributor. For the important North American market, the label has relied on specialist partners: its website notes that many Northern Silence titles are available in the United States from Hell's Headbangers (about 90% of its releases), Out of Season and Blastbeats Vinyl, and it encourages US customers to buy from those partners to save on shipping. The label has also had to adapt to changing postal rules, informing customers that small "Warenpost" packages can no longer be sent to the US or Puerto Rico, while DHL parcel shipping remains possible. Artistically, the catalogue spans atmospheric, pagan, folk, Viking and depressive black metal, with a strong presence of Scandinavian and Central European acts. Releases have included albums, EPs, compilations of older demos and unreleased recordings, and reissues. Examples visible on the official store include compilations such as Seeds of Hate's "History of Hate" (2025, on the Nordic Crusade label) and Sargoth's "Under Lucifers Banner (History Of Eden In Ashes)" (2025), which gathers a 1998 album, a 1995 demo and an unreleased 2001 EP. The store also lists titles by Elffor, Nokturnal Mortum, Kroda, Bergrizen, Atronos, Mavorim, Malum, Kvad, Hjemsøkt, Granitader, Cum Mortem, Ainzamkait, Ifernach, Tårfödd, Forest Silence and others. As a privately held independent, Northern Silence Productions does not publish financial statements or ownership details. Its continued activity into the 2020s — with new releases dated 2025 and an active webshop — indicates an ongoing, if niche, presence in the extreme-metal market. The label remains a small, curator-driven operation rooted in the German underground scene, with an international customer base reached largely through its own website and specialist mail-order partners.

• 2025

  New releases dated 2025 appear on the official store, including Seeds of Hate's "History of Hate" and Sargoth's "Under Lucifers Banner (History Of Eden In Ashes)".

• 2003

  Northern Silence Productions founded in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany, as an independent black metal label.

Specialist independent label and mail-order retailer for black metal and its subgenres, serving the international extreme-metal underground with limited, collector-oriented physical editions.

• Seeds Of Hate - History Of Hate, CD

• Sargoth - Under Lucifers Banner (History Of Eden In Ashes), CD

• Elffor - The Crescent Moon Palace, DigiCD

• Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns White Logo

• Kroda - Schwarzpfad, DigiCD

• Bergrizen - Werwolf Shield, Patch (woven)

• Atronos - Logo, Metal Pin

• Mavorim - In Omnia Paratus [black], 2LP

• Malum - Devil's Creation, LP

• Kvad - So Old, LP

• Hjemsøkt - Mystikk & Mørke, LP

• Granitader - Der Wald Zwischen den Welten

• Cum Mortem - The Designs Of Death, LP

• Atronos - Fehde, LP

• Ainzamkait - Fluch des Nachzehrers [black]

• Ifernach - Post Apocalyptic Apotheosis

• Atronos - Erwachen, CD

• Kroda - Varulven, DigiMCD

• Kroda - Cry To Me, River..., DigiCD

• Kroda - The Legend And The Hammer, DigiCD

• Tårfödd - Efterlämnade I Sorg, DigiCD

• Tårfödd - Mörker, DigiCD

• Tårfödd - Insikt och förfall / Dödsriket

• Tårfödd / Mörkvind - When The Gods Are...

1. 1Northern Silence Productions official websitenorthern-silence.de
2. 2Northern Silence Productions on Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Northern Silence Productions on German Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Seeds Of Hate - History Of Hate, CD product pagenorthern-silence.de
5. 5Sargoth - Under Lucifers Banner (History Of Eden In Ashes), CD product pagenorthern-silence.de
6. 6Loginnorthern-silence.de