Origin: Estonia
Formed: 1998
Genre: Black Metal
Status: Active
Label: Independent
Themes: Not documented
Sorts is one of Tallinn’s longest‑running black metal side‑projects—an entity born in 1998 from the overlapping circles of Manatark, Tharaphita, Dawn of Gehenna, and the broader late‑90s Estonian underground. From the beginning, Sorts was never meant to be a “band” in the traditional sense; it was a creative outlet, a pressure valve, a place where established musicians could experiment with raw black metal, punkish energy, and irreverent attitude without the expectations tied to their main projects.
The early era (1998–2010) was defined by the founding trio:
This lineup produced the project’s earliest material, including the 2000 single Demons on the Ride, a chaotic, riff‑driven burst of black metal that captured the spirit of the Tallinn underground at the time. The sound was raw, fast, and deliberately unpolished—black metal with a punk backbone and a mischievous streak.
After a long silence, Sorts resurfaced in 2010 with a new era and a new lineup. Gates and Mantas, both veterans of Loits, Aghor, Manatark, and related projects, took over the project and reshaped it into a more structured, riff‑centric black metal act. This period produced the EPs Made in Nightonia (2010) and Sorts (2011), followed by the full‑length albums Product of Decadence (2013) and Schwarze estnische Schweinerei (2015). These releases leaned into a sharper, more melodic black metal sound, with a sardonic edge and a distinctly Estonian sense of dark humor.
Sorts has always been a project defined by movement—musicians drifting in and out, ideas mutating, and the sound shifting with each era. Yet the core identity remains: raw, riff‑driven black metal with a sense of playfulness and a refusal to take itself too seriously.
Mantas – Bass (2009–present)
(ex‑C.C.C., ex‑Aghor, ex‑Loits, ex‑Manatark, ex‑Pirit)
Gates – Guitars, Backing Vocals (2009–present); Drums (2012–2013)
(Aghor, Loits, Põhjast, ex‑Thy Lord, ex‑The Grey Calamity, ex‑Manatark, ex‑Must Missa, ex‑Pirit)
Thonolan – Drums (1998–2010)
(Mardus, Realm of Carnivora, Sõjaruun, Urt, Vanad Varjud, Bestia live, and many more)
Benton – Guitars (1998–2000)
(Manatark, Tharaphita, ex‑Winter Night Overture, ex‑Rattler, ex‑Dawn of Gehenna)
Ank – Vocals, Guitars (1998–2010)
(Tharaphita, ex‑C.C.C., ex‑Discrucior, ex‑Forfeit, ex‑Meinardus, ex‑Must Missa, ex‑Suppuration, ex‑Dawn of Gehenna)
Singles
EPs
Splits
Full‑length albums