Impaled Nazarene - Live in Finland 1991 - 1992

Impaled Nazarene - Live in Finland 1991 - 1992
Hämeenlinna 4.7.1992, Giants of Rock festival
1) Intro
2) I Al Purg Vonpo
3) My Blessing (The Beginning of the End)
4) The Crucified
5) Condemned to Hell
6) Goat Perversion
7) The Black Vomit (Sarcofago cover)
8) Morbid Fate
9) In the Name of Satan
10) Fall to Fornication / After the Perversion
11) Damnation (Raping the Angels)
12) The Satanic Bloodspraying (Apator cover)
Riihimäki 9.5.1992
13) Goat Perversion
14) The Black Vomit
15) Condemned to Hell
16) The Crucified
17) In the Name of Satan
18) Fall to Fornication / After the Perversion
19) Damnation (Raping the Angels)
Oulu 23.8.1991, Day of Darkness festival
20) Intro: Salve Satanas
21) Condemned to Hell
22) The Crucified
23) The Black Vomit
24) Morbid Fate
25) In the Name of Satan
26) Fall to Fornication
27) Crucifixation (Deicide cover)
28) Damnation (Raping the Angels)
Oulu 12.7.1991, Koskean työväen talo
29) Intro: Salve Satanas
30) Condemned to Hell
31) The Crucified
32) The Black Vomit
33) Morbid Fate
34) In the Name of Satan
35) Fall to Fornication
36) Crucifixation
37) Damnation (Raping the Angels)

Reuploaded - 2022


After typing that tracklisting I don't feel much like doing a wall of text here, but I guess I have to write something. So, this is the Impaled Nazarene live compilation tape someone mentioned in the comments here. As you notice, I got that tape. The notes on the cover's tracklisting make me wonder if the band released this tape themselves back in whenever (see below) - I would appreciate more information on this if anyone knows?

Tracklisting on the very simple folded cover.

There are four shows here, two from each 1992 & 1991, running for 1:26:50 which means they are quite short by today's standards, I suppose. All these recordings have a good(-ish) sound, naturally varying from gig to gig and occasionally within the same gig. The Hämeenlinna one has a pretty diabolical guitar sound which is cool once your ear adjusts to it. Riihimäki gig was already posted on this blog and Oulu 23rd August 1991 was released on the first "Day of Darkness Festifall" split (with Beherit's bit). Last one would have a very good and enjoyable sound but it's a little marred by people talking over the recording. Extremely annoying. As always, I.N. live is very entertaining, the old tracks are total killers and good times are had whenever Mika opens his mouth. Recommended.

Minas Morgul - Demo 1996

Minas Morgul (gre) - Demo 1996
1) Intro - Valley of the Vaulted Tombs
2) Dark Realms
3) Lusting for Salvation

Mediafire

Another tape traded item today, this one from Greece and for change I had a copy of the xeroxed cover so a scan is enclosed. One of the many bands to pick the same monicker, the Greeks here released this demo and then either changed name or vanished into obscurity.

The demo features a pretty bad sound, some of which may be blamed on being an unknown generation dub but surely not all. The sound is muffled and murky, wavering from left to right every now and then, drum machine handles the percussion - it is quite obvious but not of the worst sort. Overall it sounds very, very Greek and though it's nothing original I've always enjoyed the Greek sound of the first half of 90's. The intro bit has a very different sound to the rest of the demo so I'm guessing they just borrowed it from somewhere, which was very typical at the time and the first short track "Dark Realms" is an instrumental which feels a bit like another intro before the main course, third and only "proper" track. There were many, many short demos and promos like this recorded in Greece around mid-90's, I wonder what was up with that? Anyways, vocals are pretty good black metal shrieks, I like many of the guitar bits and the sound isn't that bad so I suppose this ends up positive. Check it out if you're into 90's Greek bm or just need to hear everything I post here.

Rotko - Kuilu demo II 1996

Rotko - Kuilu demo II 1996
1) Intro - Arts of Black Magick
2) The Gloomy Fallen Angel
3) Lusifer
4) Flames
5) I Rise from the Coffin

Depositfiles / Mediafire

The second Rotko demo, see the first post for background details and musings, most written there applies here. Obviously no cover for this one either. As always, I'd appreciate scans if they exist and if anyone actually has them.

To the content: as seen above intro and four tracks this time, all of them being on the short side (ranging from 2:22 to 3:37) and continuing much in the same vein as the first demo. That is, bass-heavy ritualistic jetblack metal with some (less this time) doomy touches - not much different from Barathrum material of the 90's! Though the sound and intros/effects bring an extra touch of demented morbidity to the result. "The Gloomy Fallen Angel" was recorded again for "Venomous" and "Lusifer" is familiar both from that same album and the first Rotko demo. This version is faster, a bit shorter and more maniacal than the one on first demo, yet longer than the album version and still in Finnish. I stand undecided which one I prefer most. The sound is comparable to the first demo, though it's somewhat superior with the stronger guitar sound and better drums. To me the vocals stand out differing most as they are now closer to Sova's usual black metal voice. Overall tempo is faster, as reflected by the more compact tracks as well. Sounds perhaps less unusual than the first demo but flows better. Anyways, very much recommended to Barathrum listeners and in general worth a try for any reader.

Goetia #2

Goetia 'zine, issue 2 (1994)
Interviews:
Marduk
Gorgon (fra)
Behemoth (swe)
Deranged
Nezgaroth
In Flames
Memorium
Acheron
In The Woods...
Satyricon
Ancient Rites
Mortiis
Throne Of Ahaz
Dark Tranquillity
Excidium
Beherit
Katatonia
Disaster Area
Osmose Productions
Masochist
Gehenna
Sadist
Ancient
Rotting Christ
Articles:
Sigillum Diaboli (fin)
Vergelmer
The Moaning
Temperance
 + reviews

Depositfiles

Another 'zine and an old favourite of mine, this is the second and last issue of the Swedish Goetia featuring quite a load of bands within its 48 A5 pages. This is managed by small print, efficient lay-out and compact interviews (in other words, some are quite short and some interviewees gave short answers). The interviews are different from one another, partially by not repeating same formula and partly by being made by three persons (two contributers beside the editor). I admit much of my fondness for this 'zine probably stems from nostalgy but it should be a good read for others as well. Shame the editor decided to quit with this issue. He was supposed to start contributing to another 'zine "The Mourner's Lament" but I don't know how it turned out, would be interesting to see that 'zine - and the first Goetia issue too, if anyone happens to have them!

UPDATE: Comrade Kurgan's research has revealed that there were at least two more issues of Goetia made as the 4th issue was for sale recently. Get in touch with me if you have 'em, I want them.
UPDATE 2: I have all except the 1st one which I really want to see.

Wanderer - Rehearsal 1995

Wanderer (fin) - Rehearsal 1995
1) Untitled I
2) Untitled II

Mediafire / Depositfiles

Back to my own rips, here's an instrumental rehearsal tape from the Finnish Wanderer - if you've read this blog longer you probably recognize the name from Raven & Haven In Shadows posts. And you might have heard the demo "Surrounded by These Firs" which was released on CD with Wintermoon (fin) and I Flow In Depths material by Werewolf Records the other year. These two songs date to... well I don't have any idea exactly to when, late 1995 I presume and in any case had no titles when they were dubbed to some people. As you might know, Wanderer never recorded another demo as the various other projects apparently captured the musicians' attention more and Azhemin got involved with a bunch of other bands. No cover exists for this thing either, what you see above is a combo of logo and band pic I scanned from an old (well, 1995) Finnish 'zine.

These two long (over 8 minutes both) tracks have a good rehearsal sound and seem to me quite complete and also sound annoyingly familiar - possibly some of this material was recycled to other projects? Or I might just be too daft to recognize these as versions of demo songs or something... well I am quite sure of them not being that! I'd appreciate it if someone more musical could confirm me if the material indeed was reused somewhere. The music proceeds on a leisurely midtempo pace for most of the time, is melodic and very atmospheric and reminds me quite a bit of Haven In Shadows material. Like mentioned, no vocals and also no synths present either. Works for me nicely without either, actually. Recommended to fans of both Wanderer and the other bands name-dropped!

Forgotten Pathways - Shrouded in Mystery demo 1998

Forgotten Pathways - Shrouded in Mystery demo 1998
1) Incoming
2) Dyfed
3) Wuduaelfen
4) Darkend in Caverns Deep
5) Outro (Battle of Bravellir)
6) Darkend In Caverns Deep (bonus version)

Depositfiles

Today's item is a request, an item for which I originally posted a link at the comments here. Since that was a Megaupload link it is long gone and apparently this is very hard to find on the net so I decided to humour The Count and other looking for this by reuploading it and making it an actual post. Dungeon synth from Austria (? - not 100% about this! UPDATE: Was told this is a German project!!!) is on today's menu and the item is not my rip, unfortunately I can't remember anymore where I found this... possibly at Dunkelheit?

I'm not going to go great lenghts here, you can read a much better introduction for this at comrade Andrew's blog, I'll just settle to describe this quickly as very elemental dungeon synth with the associated crude charm to it. The bonus track is really quite unnecessary though. Friends of the genre are adviced to check this out!

Jumalhämärä - Vanity of Humanity 7"EP 2001

Jumalhämärä - Vanity of Humanity 7"EP 2001
1) Soul Full of Maggots
2) Goatifying the Congregation

Mediafire

Finnish black metal again and if you remember the Horna posts from June, this EP was also dubbed on the tape I ripped. So, it's not a vinyl rip but a rip of a dub made from original vinyl. I had no cover for this so there's a quite decent image found probably on M.A. used. Jumalhämärä is a band that has changed their expression quite a bit for their recent (2007 & 2010) EP & debut album, which was released by Ahdistuksen Aihio, the EP by Hammer of Hate. The demos and this 7" sounded quite Norsecore influenced, fast and melodic black metal whereas the new releases have moved to avant garde/experimental and post/progressive realms.

But let's talk this one, there are two tracks for a bit less than ten minutes playtime as is typical for a 7"EP. Like mentioned the music here is still in that older form, inspired by for example Emperor (wild name throw not at all inspired by their cover choice on a demo), mostly moving in faster tempo, melodic, with some samples thrown in and synth backing employed. I think the songwriting has advanced here from the demos but this is based on an impression I have as I don't have the demos at hand to compare. All said, this was a pretty good EP, if you feel the current releases are too out there this might be a safer pick. Personally I've found the new EP & album very interesting and would advice you to take a listen at them if you tolerate the more avant garde material at all.

Bifrost - Western Magick promo 1993

Bifrost - Western Magick promo 1993
1) Intro: 12 O'Clock
2) Fimbulwinter: A Tale Of Hate
3) My Ancestor, Now A Dark Woodspirit
4) Battlelord Odinn (Father Of Victories)
5) The Widdershins Jig (Skyclad cover)
6) Outro: Sword Of Orion

Reuploaded

Something little different today, but not too far ideologically or really musically either from the generic fare of this blog: Bifrost from the Netherlands and their second (? - I think) tape from 1993, sent to me some time ago by Vaalkoth. Thanks! Bifrost played a quite unusual sort of pagan thrash metal, with probably closest references being Sabbat (UK) and Skyclad. As the cover art might tell to more enlightened readers, Bifrost was connected with Bælder. Personally I always thought of Bifrost as "that Guido's band" (see these Hordes posts) and to be honest never really listened to them that much as I preferred the more obviously black metal members of Holland's peculiar scene. I've no proper scan of the covers, just the Metal Archives image and a pic Vaalkoth took with his camera of the cover which unfortunately isn't very clear.

UPDATE: Full cover scan sent by Fenrirsson, thanks once again! Depositfiles upload updated with it.
UPDATE II: Ignore the second line above, I've reuploaded it with the scan.

All of the band's three proper own tracks appeared on their debut album "Pagan Reality" so if you have heard it you basically know what to expect, though of course this being a demo recording the sound is different. Not bad at all, in a twisted way it sounds better than I remember the album doing - raw and barbaric, unrefined and "alive". The vocals are mostly either a brutal yell, slightly effected, sounding both crude and convincing or an almost narrated style which reveals the vocalist's limitations as a singer, though he does a bit of "clean" singing as well, thankfully choosing not to dwell too long on it. I'm not really sure to whom I'd recommend this, but give it a try if you got curious, maybe its rough charm will work on you.

Muspellsheim - Sør for Ginnungagap demo 1997

Muspellsheim - Sør for Ginnungagap demo II 1997
1) Misantrop
2) Fullmånens Besettelse
3) Glemt og Forlatt
4) Svartedauens Mysterier

Mediafire / Depositfiles

As a follow up to a last month's post, here is the second demo of the Norwegian black metallers Muspellsheim. For more on the band, see the older post. I got this one from a tape trader contact and did not get a copy of the covers so once again a M.A. image and request for scans if you have them. Notice how the M.A. pic looks like it was from a CD? Maybe they released this as CDr, I don't know.

Musically this continues directly from the first demo and soundwise it is also very similar, unfortunately being a dub of unknown generation the end result is slightly murky and the tape wear is audible in a few places. Not really bad though. I case you're too much of a lazy dick to read the old post I suppose I have to say something about the music here as well: melodic black metal fra Norge with a more full, deeper sound than usual, some synth backing and Norse/Viking moods yet not sounding directly like a Viking or folk metal band. Ok, maybe a little more here than on the first demo. They've actually re-recorded one track from the first demo here again, "Glemt og Forlatt", the version here being a little shorter but not much faster, at least from what I can make out. The last track is interesting with the vocals distant in the background, sounding like warped half-clean singing, versus the intense riffing on the foreground. I want to hear their more recent releases too. Check this out if you enjoyed the first demo.

Rotko - Lusifer-Lusifer demo 1996

Rotko - Lusifer-Lusifer demo I 1996
1) Horns of Mine
2) Lusifer
3) Lord of South and Fire

Depositfiles / Mediafire

Back to Finland and obscure black metal, here is demo I of mysterious Rotko of which I only got info from my trader, besides the title, year, 1st demo status & tracklisting - quite a bit actually, that it was a "Barathrum project". Which obviously means Demonos Sova's project and as you may see from the tracklisting, two out of three tracks are familiar from Barathrum albums: "Lusifer" was redone as a faster version and with English lyrics on "Venomous" and "Lord of South and Fire" appeared already on the 1995 debut album "Hailstorm". Not sure if the first one has been renamed and -used later. I've absolutely no idea if a cover existed for this release, knowing Sova I'd be surprised if there wasn't one but I haven't had any luck finding one - or much info on this either! I was wondering if this might've been sort of same for Barathrum as The Lord Diabolus was for Beherit? Though I don't recall Sova having issues with Opyros & N.E.P. - anyone got actual information? Due the lack of cover art, or a good pic of Sova from 95/96 I decided to decorate the post with the old Barathrum seal - you could interpret Rotko as translation of Barathrum to Finnish, even though a common, literal translation of 'rotko' to English is 'ravine'.

So is this very different from Barathrum? Well, not really, it most resembles demo era sound mixed with the first three albums. Sound is quite rough demo level and he's using drum machine. Very prominent bass, slower doomy tempos and ritual atmosphere. Some (semi-)clean vocals are used besides the black metal barks and roars. Crude, ritualistic, primitive, fascinating, barbaric, occult, charming and jetblack are some of the adjectives that come to mind while listening to this tape. Absolutely fascinating and I really like the slower, Finnish version of "Lusifer" (which would again appear in slightly different form on the second demo which I'll post later). Recommended, especially if you're into older Barathrum.

PS: Forgot to write that I'd be interested in Sova's other projects Kirous and Fall so let me know if you have those recordings. I think Kirous did 2-3 tapes and no idea about Fall. And thanks but I already have Demonos Jetblack material.