Skuggmörker - Härskare av den svarta natten demo 1995

Skuggmörker - Härskare av den svarta natten demo II 1995
1) I nordens maktiga sal
2) Härskare av den svarta natten
3) Nifelhel
4) Aldrig från stillheten
5) The Dark Empire
6) En stig till helvete

Reuploaded

Here's another Swedish demo I got from brother Grev, Skuggmörker released two demos before falling further into obscurity (or splitting up, don't know) and shared members with Lysefall, Ondska and Evrakon - the last being only one I've heard of these as brother The Deceased was looking for their demos some time ago and found one. Being the ever-curious freak that I am, I'd be interested in hearing material of the other mentioned bands so let me know if you happen to have their stuff. Grev's dub was gotten by tape trading so he did not have the demo cover for me, I'd be interested in a scan if you happen to have it.

The dub is not of perfect quality, the tape goes nutty at the beginning of the first track briefly but fortunately runs correctly for the rest of the 25+ mins. It also sounds worn which combined with less than crystal clear demo sound makes this feel like an unearthed relic from the past, still partially covered in dirt, chipped there and cracked here. Other than the wear, hissing and the slight muffling (is that a word?) the sound is actually pretty decent and listenable. Even if it's not very clear you can easily make out the different instruments and nothing drowns anything out. The drums are a bit lost in the background but you can hear them too. Music is mostly midtempo black metal that drops to slow occasionally and has a mysterious, obscure aura to it. Voice is mostly a rough, echoing shout/half scream with some spoken voice added from track 3 onwards. Some synths are used every now and then for a good effect. The songwriting and musicianship might not be anything to write home about but I find myself enjoying this from time to time. Recommended for seekers of obscure demos and collectors of Swedish underground black metal.