Origin: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location: N/A
Formed: Unknown
Status: Split‑up
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Themes: N/A
Lustblood was a short‑lived but unmistakably Black Plague Circle–adjacent project, active briefly and leaving behind a single release that captured a very specific strain of Sarajevo’s underground: feral, occult, blood‑obsessed black metal, delivered with the rawness and venom characteristic of the Circle’s early‑2020s output. Though the band dissolved quickly, its membership reveals exactly what it was—a convergence of three of the Circle’s most prolific and stylistically defining musicians.
Musically, Lustblood sits at the intersection of:
The sound is raw but not sloppy, occult but not atmospheric, violent but not chaotic. It is black metal sharpened into a blade—direct, hateful, and spiritually corrosive.
Their sole release, Neither Above nor Below (2022), is a compact but potent statement. The title itself reflects the project’s worldview: a rejection of transcendence and a rejection of earthly grounding—black metal as a liminal, blood‑drenched state of being.
Lustblood’s lineup is a perfect snapshot of the Black Plague Circle’s inner machinery—three musicians whose identities are expressed through elaborate, symbolic monikers.
Also in: Izrod, Niteris, Suša, Vrač, Arjen (live), Obskuritatem (live), Sulphuric Night (live), ex‑Void Prayer, Lucid Dreamers, ex‑Svirep, ex‑Pad Sistema
This is AJ, one of the Circle’s most active modern‑era musicians. His bass tone and vocal presence give Lustblood its grounding in urban filth and spiritual corrosion.
Also in: Cave Ritual, Deathcircle, Felgrim, Hagorun, Izrod, Night’s Majesty, Nigrum Ignis Circuli, Niteris, Obskuritatem, Pavor Nokturnus, Silva Nigra, Sulphuric Night, Vampyric Winter, VraÄŤ, Weltentod, Arjen (live), and many others
This is OR—one of the central architects of the Sarajevo sound. His drumming and keyboard work give Lustblood its ritualistic backbone and occult atmosphere.
Also in: Arjen, Cave Ritual, Izrod, Night’s Majesty, Nigrum Ignis Circuli, Niteris, VraÄŤ, Obskuritatem (live), Sulphuric Night (live), ex‑Bestias, ex‑Deadnight, ex‑Rituali Satanas, ex‑Void Prayer, Lucid Dreamers, ex‑Krv
This is HP, whose guitar work defines much of the Circle’s melodic and atmospheric vocabulary. In Lustblood, he leans into a sharper, more violent riffing style.
Together, these three form a perfect triad of the Circle’s core aesthetics:
Lustblood is what happens when these forces converge for a single, focused strike.
EP
A brief but complete expression of Lustblood’s identity—raw, occult, blood‑driven black metal with no interest in subtlety or longevity.
Lustblood is a side‑path, a flash of collaboration between three of the Circle’s most active members. It is not a foundational project like Obskuritatem or Sulphuric Night, nor a narrative‑driven one like Izrod. Instead, it is a moment—a crystallization of shared aesthetics, executed quickly and abandoned once its purpose was fulfilled.
It stands as: