maanantai 29. huhtikuuta 2013

Deface - Tears demo 1995


Deface (spa) - Tears advance tape for demo 1995
1) Absorbed by Homesickness
2) Unforgettable Moments
3) Inextricable Memories (Part I)
4) The Field of Glory
5) Inextricable Memories (Part II)

Mediafire

Time to post another a bit older contribution. I'm not 100% if I simply forgot this one to sit in my download folder or had Mikael aka Vaalkoth posted this in their short-lived blog, whatever the reason may be it was left there for quite some time. Anyways, this is an advance version of Spanish death metal band Deface's only (?) demo from 1995 which Mikael had gotten from them and ripped and sent to yours truly along with some other items. Includes a pic of the cover, which is unfortunately not a scan but a digicam pic. You can see what needs to be seen on that too. Thanks for sharing!

Mikael's rip had tracks 3 & 4 together, I separated them. Otherwise I haven't meddled with his work here, it's a little lower bitrate than I usually go for (CBR 160) but it sounds ok. Note that of the 5 tracks here, roughly 15 minutes of music, only tracks 2 and 4 might be what we call "proper" tracks as the others are intro and interlude sort of pieces. The sound is kinda weak, or more like unpowerful and the music is not certainly the average sort of death metal you might've expected from Spain early 90's - it's kind of complicated mix of technical death metal with gothic influences, rather than death/doom which might seem more likely when you look at the titles here. In a way the sound supports their complex, serpentine meanderings as a heavier, cavernous or a dirty, muddled production would make them a complete mess. Vocals are death growls, gothic moans and assorted less used sounds. I don't like this. Well, the instrumental interludes are ok. Other than that the main dish is too complex and twisty for my palate, most of the time it just makes me sort of annoyed. But you have to note I'm not into Ved Buens Ende and the like either so you might find this fascinating and actually enjoy it. After all, some people enjoy eating things which make me grimace and spit them into a napkin for stealth disposal at first opportunity... I better quit now and prepare some food.

lauantai 27. huhtikuuta 2013

Fiendish Nymph - Promo 1996


Fiendish Nymph - Promo 1996
1) The Ethereal Nereids
2) The Drowning of Syring

Yandex / Mediafire

Here is a short item that has been lying around my HD for way too long... well the original rip was made in 2010, but I ripped it again as I wasn't pleased with that result. This one still has minor issues but I'm happy enough with it and it's about time I upload it. I know you can find a rip (or rips) of this tape elsewhere but since I've done it and like it, it's here end of discussion. Promo 1996 was the second demo of the Greek band Fiendish Nymph (if you don't count a 1994 promo track) who spawned a side project Daemonia Nymphe, playing sort of folk/world music thing and ending up with more releases than the "main band". Ripped from an original tape and includes cover scan.

Like just about all Fiendish Nymph releases, this is a pretty short tape at 11:40 which isn't bad for two tracks, obviously. Sound quality is of good demo sort but unfortunately the balance is a little screwy as most of the instrumentation is on one side. It doesn't bother me as bad as it used to. Music is midtempoish, atmospheric Greek pagan/black metal with sort of whispery main vocals which I like very much, accompanied by some half spoken ones, black metal gasps/rasps and such. I especially like the almost strangled sounding bm howls. Synths are featured quite prominently and very Greek riffs abound. I've always had a soft spot for this band and still do so I'm just going to babble like an idiot if I continue. Try it if you like Hellenic take on black metal, especially the atmospheric sort. If you don't like Greek metal give it still a listen or I won't forgive you.

PS: I would very much like to rip and post the first demo but the only dub (I should have two) I've found so far was of really poor quality. Help appreciated as the second dub is somewhere in old catacombs' nameless tombs and requires either massive effort (not gonna happen) or luck to be found.

torstai 25. huhtikuuta 2013

Isengrim #1


Isengrim Magazine, issue 1 (spring 1997)
Interviews:
Wallachia
Crimson Midwinter
Dødheimsgard
Oðinn (the zine editor)
Sigh
Faerghail
Teemu Kautonen (aka Hexenmeister, ex-DMB, Wizzard, Furthest Shore, Nattvindens Gråt)
Solistitium Records
Gravferd
Helheim
Utgard
Necromorbus
Fleurety
Stille Volk
Funeral Mist
Articles:
Bleed Me Tears
Muspellsheim
Irish Metal Scene Report
"CD vs. Vinyl"
Heresies radio show (the logo reads "Heresy")
"Finland At War - Chapter 1: The Eastern Threat"
Crystalline Creations distro
"Long Live the Peasants and Their King of Night and Death"
+reviews

Reuploaded - 2022

Here is the second result of the pact I and comrade Kurgan made, the first issue of the Finnish black metal-related 'zine Isengrim. Very much a product of its time and in many ways again, like I've mentioned on some other 'zine posts of the time, reminds me how things started to turn all wrong. The interview roster is more interesting than the average 'zines as he doesn't feature that many bands who were all over the place. Unfortunately several of them are just not at all interesting or have much to say. The quasi-black metalness that had started to pervade the scene is all over these pages too, from the "blackish" (author's term) bands featured to the pretty annoying reviews. It seems like the editor has to include "unoriginal" in at least 3 out of 4 reviews and "boring" in a 2/3 ratio. Despite my irritation I have to admit he makes some quite good interview questions, especially for a debut issue but don't expect in-depth, spiritual talks or whatever. And don't let yourself be fooled to think it's a black metal fanzine, it's not. I'm sure most of you will anyways enjoy going through these pages so I suppose I recommend you to download it now.

Messier - Live at Võit Cinema, 4.4.1997


Messier - Live at Võit Cinema, Nõmme, Tallinn Estonia 4th April 1997
1) Ohverdus hingekopsude toojale
2) Kopsud ja valu ja saatuse raskus
3) Surm neile kel kõrv
4) Püha osmidus armastab loomi
5) Iisraeli rahva kõlbeline laostumine

RGhost / Yandex

Following the previous post I decided to upload right away another Messier item, this is a live recording, also from 1997. The line-up for the gig was same as for the first demo, minus Pallisõber (I think) and added our contributor Mihkel Kleis playing the synth. Mihkel recalls Messier performed live only two times. The venue was in a suburb of Tallinn and was quite popular for rock and metal concerts at that time. No cover, the pic up there is the Messier guys sans Känd hanging around at Harju Mägi, Tallinn - there was a record market every Sunday. Mihkal in the middle, Noka to the left and Lauri on the right.

The five song performance lasts a little below 17 minutes and has a pretty good sound in my opinion. Vocals are a little high on the mix but this might have to do also with the nature of the instrumentation. Some of the tracks don't seem to appear elsewhere, including the first one which sounds quite like progressive rock with the synth and guitar doing what they do. The second and third track are among the more bizarre and noisy sort and live especially so. An interesting performance for sure. I had something else I was going to write but now I'm kind of in a hurry so just download it. Or don't.

keskiviikko 24. huhtikuuta 2013

Messier - Tagasi Egiptuse lihapottide juurde demo 1997


Messier - Tagasi Egiptuse lihapottide juurde demo 1997
1) Tagasi Egiptuse lihapottide juurde
2) Infixus sum est in limo profundi et non est substantsia
3) The Stones, Where the Haft Rotted
4) Ja kopsud ja valu ja saatuse raskus
5) Seal surm on neile kel kõrv
6) Jotros poemas ja teisi luuletus
7) Sõja mõttetusest
8) Kui käib lahingulaine
9) Hodina u rak polesu
10) Õnnis, kui taevased, neistki õndsam veel Catullus

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Contributions again and quite recent one for change plus it's yet another "different" item. This is the rare first demo by the Estonian folk/something band Messier, sent to me by Mihkel Kleis, thank you, and I presume it is ripped from his tape. Scans were also provided so we're all good here. He wasn't sure how many copies were made but estimates roughly ten(!).

This demo is in a sense a compilation as it gathers recordings from 1993 - 1997, all home-recorded with a tape recorder for extremely bad, amateurish sound quality. Though I've heard worst and so have you if you've read this blog long enough. Line-up for this tape was Indrek Pauls aka "Noka" - vocals, flute & guitar; Lauri Õunapuu (now in Metsatöll) - guitar & vocals; Känd - percussion. Apparently a guy called Pallisõber participated in the band, but Mihkel had no idea exactly what he played or how he contributed. Music here is... uh, I guess it's best described as some sort of Baltic folk/neofolk, very lo-fi and as underground as such comes. Main voice is kind deep chanting one, while another voice is a bit lighter and more... ehh proper singing? Singsongy? I don't seem to be on my best descriptive edge today. Anyways, those are later expanded to spoken word and frantic, very punky sort of vocals which are surprising and cool. Instrumentation is acoustic guitars, flute(s - possibly various kinds but I understand preciously little of such!) and percussion, which you of course could already tell from the line-up I wrote earlier. Some of the songs are very traditional kind of folk while others have more of a neofolk character and yet others are plain silly/very eccentric. Listening through the tape leaves me a little confused and undecided to what make out of it. It's not very long, just over 24 minutes, despite containing ten tracks, most of them are quite short. In the end of the day I find this strangely fascinating at parts, I clearly need to give it more attention as it seems to grow on you with further listens. Or maybe I'm finally losing it. Recommeded for the more adventurous and open minded readers.

maanantai 22. huhtikuuta 2013

Ironsword - Promo 1995


Ironsword - Promo 1995
1) Intro
2) I Am the Defender
3) The Flame and the Sword
4) Battlecry

Mediafire / Depositfiles

A bit unusual genre for the Coven today, straight old heavy metal from the Portuguese project/band Ironsword. You're probably wondering how I happened to have it in the first place? Well, Ironsword was the project of a former Moonspell guitarist Tann who also played in Decayed and basically that got me curious to hear this tape. After confirming that yes indeed it's basic old heavy metal I lost interest and didn't get the further recordings. Ripped from a traded dub so no cover, image from Metal Archives used.

I've noticed growing old people suddenly start to listen to old heavy metal again. This is partially true with me as well, though I stick to the oldies I liked back then and don't like most of the newcomers or seek actively out new old bands of the genre. So how does this effort sound now after all these years? Well, slightly more appealing than back then but it's definitely no masterpiece. The sound is quite poor for this sort of metal, though a seasoned black metal rehearsal tape listener isn't fazed to the slightest. I like my heavy metal rough and dirty instead of polished and sugary. The vocals are quite amateurish and don't go too high for most of the time, which I find preferable. Machine drums, pretty ok guitar sound. I should probably check out how these guys (I think it's a full band nowadays) have changed over the years but as for this tape, I rather pick up some old Maiden, Manowar, W.A.S.P., Running Wild etc. (you get the idea) for my heavy metal needs. But check it out if you like undergroundish heavy metal with challenging sound or are interested in Portuguese demo bands! I'd like to hear the 1998 promo if anyone happens to have it.

sunnuntai 21. huhtikuuta 2013

Kill Yourself!!! 'zine #5


Kill Yourself!!! Magazine, issue 5 (1997)
Interviews:
Abruptum
Demonic
Denial Of God
Det Hedenske Folk
Baron Drakkheim Abaddon (aka Michael W. Ford, Black Funeral/Valefor/Darkness Enshroud/etc...)
Thy Serpent
Thromdarr
Marduk
Behemoth
Bathory
Malicious Records
Falkenbach
Triumphator
Wanderer
+reviews scattered around, gig reports

Yandex / Depositfiles

A 'zine post today. Recently me and comrade Kurgan conspired to acquire some old fanzines, with him assisting in the funding I got the 'zines and scanned them and now post here for your benefit. Not much of an evil plot, is that? Anyways, this one was something I had forgotten existed, see the earlier post here for more on KY 'zine's history. I was under the impression issue 4 was the final one but this came out two years later, delayed due military service. I'm pretty sure this one is the last chapter then!

Lay-out and pretty much everything else remains same from the previous issues and several of the interviewees are making a reappearance as well. Overall I don't find the line-up very exciting as many of these people appeared in several 'zines all the time in that time frame (especially Behemoth), the Bathory interview was a rare one, yet I seem to recall him appearing a bit more around that time in general, following the release of Blood on Ice. It's a pity Timo did only two of the interviews as Esa's were quite formulaic here. Besides the interviews there are reviews, mostly negative, all over the 'zine, a page of gig reports and an amusing journal of the guys' trip to Saarijärvi. If you enjoyed reading the 4th issue I'm sure you'll like this one too!

perjantai 19. huhtikuuta 2013

Isacaarum / Sorath - Split 7"EP 1997


Isacaarum / Sorath (cze) - Meditations in Dark Green / Enlightenment Split 7"EP 1997
Isacaarum:
1) Isamaháparinibbánasuttam
2) Siddharthah's Pond / Jade Verses
Sorath:
3) Enlightenment
4) Torment

Reuploaded

Suddenly, another vinyl EP ripped from a tape dub. I wasn't sure if I'd upload this one but then it was requested and the end result was satisfactory so I thought why not? There's a bunch of these on this blog already. Enough expository babbling, the EP features two Czech black metal bands, Sorath some of you will remember from the split with Unclean posted ages ago here and Isacaarum is an interesting case as they started off with a piss-poor (or so I recall it was) black/death metal demo, made an album (more or less black metal) that was all over the place with mainly German lyrics but also songs about Finland, Sweden and Norway (lyrics?) on it and then they decided to become a pornogrind band or something like that. These two tracks of theirs are quite interesting as they seem to deal with Buddhism which is certainly not something you see everyday. Sorath's part is more basic straight ahead pounding black metal with death metal touches. Their second track is more interesting of the two with bouncy bass parts. Nothing too remarkable but a decent listen for people into black/death metal and those who are curious of the Czech scene.

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas - Demo 1994

 

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas - Demo 1994
1) Requiem
2) The Messenger
3) May No Tears Stain This Holy Ground
4) Einleitung
5) Quod Olim Erat
6) Untitled (unknown title)

Depositfiles / RGhost / Mediafire

GO BUY IT DO IT NOW!!!

Something non-metal for change and an item that has been sitting on my HD's for way too long. This is the 1994 demo by Austrian darkwave/neoclassical/atmospheric/addmorewords project Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, who also happen to be one of my favourite non-metal artists and was ripped from a dub sent by a trader back in mid 90's. And like most probably know already, DVKE feature(d) the Summoning members plus additional female vocalists. The recording had no tracklisting and I had some difficulty figuring the titles out and the last one evaded me totally, could be it's a fragment of a track from the debut anyways it sounds extremely familiar. Help anyone? Tried asking Protector already, no reply. Obviously it had no cover art either, again I just made something. Actually several variations of it, decided to go with the artsy off-center logo version.

Another version of the cover.

If you have heard the DVKE debut album, the content of the demo will be familar to you though these are very, very stripped down versions of the tracks. They do have vocals (Richard & Julia) and are quite easy to recognize... well except the evasive last bit that is. Almost decent sound with not too much tape wear and impurities. If you haven't heard the first DVKE album, well the music there and on this demo is more like medieval darkwave with some slight dungeon synth feeling even (though the vocals take this away from the genre) and some pure ambient tracks (on the album) rather than the more neoclassical feeling of the later works. And I like it very much. Of course I too prefer listening to the album, but it's interesting to hear these rough early versions. Enough typing, you'll know by now if you want to download this or not, it's not like I could force you to do it or like DVKE. But I still recommend both.

UPDATE: How was I not informed before?!? Apparently an US label has released a digital compilation of this demo, complete mind you, looks like my tape was missing three songs, and a live from '97 remastered and it can be grabbed from their Bandcamp at name-your-price. Link above. I just bought it and am not really 100% pleased with the resulting sound on the demo part but screw that, it's complete! Get it now! Haven't yet heard the live songs but the setlist is amazing.

sunnuntai 14. huhtikuuta 2013

Absu - Rehearsal 1994


Absu - Rehearsal 1994
1) Tasseomancy
2) A Quest into the 77th Novel
3) Apzu
4) The Sun of Tiphareth
5) Akhera Goiti-Akhera Beiti (One Black Opalith for Tomorrow)

Yandex / Mediafire

Back to contributions and this one is terribly late, my apologies to brother Fenrirsson who already sent this well over a year ago. The reason I'm posting this rehearsal tape by the US mythological occult metal masters Absu so late is that it had no tracklisting nor a date when Proscriptor had sent it to him back whenever it was. The date is still obviously missing but the tracklisting I finally figured out. I was mostly stuck on the first track and almost gave up, forgetting this in a folder but luckily I remembered their 2CD compilation and sure enough it was one of those tracks. Of course there was no cover for this either so I just made a placeholder with the relevant version of the logo and some Equitant art used on "The Sun of Tiphareth" disc.

This is an instrumental rehearsal tape, with a very good and clear sound which however could be a bit more powerful and a little louder too but everyone can adjust the volume on their devices themselves, can't you? The five songs are all quite lenghty, the tape totals over 35 minutes which is longer than the debut album. Tracks 2 - 4 are from the second album, if you don't know for some reason, 1 was unreleased till the "Mythological Occult Metal" compilation (not sure if same version enhanced) and 5 was the B-side of the 1995 7"EP. It's good material, though if you're used to the thrashing intensity of the 3rd and later albums you might not appreciate the more deliberate and epic approach of the tracks here, especially given the lack of vocals. Fanboys (and -girls?) like me will enjoy this.

perjantai 12. huhtikuuta 2013

Children of Mäani - Demo 1995


Children of Mäani - Demo 1995
1. Tradition; the Birth
2. In the Middle of the Macrocosme - "Those Who Are Called VAO"
3. Tiphareth... And Beams of Malchuth - "After the Five Ones"
4. Tradition; My Birth - "Where Is the Sky of The First?"

Yandex / Depositfiles / RGhost

Today's post is a demo from my rips and continues the sort-of-wasting-everyone's-time -theme. This is the first, and only, demo of the quite short-lived French project Children of Mäani by Vindsval, the Blut Aus Nord man. The time-wasting aspect comes from the fact that the four tracks here were later released as "The Veil of Osiris" MCD. Which I haven't heard so I can't say if they were just pressed onto disc as they were or somehow re-touched, -mastered, -mixed, -whatever. Anyways since I came across a pretty decent dub of the demo from my tapes and bothered ripping it, please bear with me. Of course you can just wait for the next post. I didn't have a cover for this so I borrowed one again from Demo Archives.

I was quite surprised after listening to this after many years as it sounded different than what I had remembered. To be honest, it sounds a lot like Blut Aus Nord used to do in the mid-90's, though it's a little bit more intricate and technical than the BAN stuff of the time was and obviously the lyrical topics are different. The sound of the recording is a little muffled and demo-ish yet very listenable and pretty balanced to my tastes. I like this. Why don't I have the MCD? Anyways, if you liked the old BAN, not the later post-whatever-avantgarde-artsiness, and atmospheric early-to-mid-90's black metal with mythological occult touch (no, it still doesn't sound like Absu) give this a listen.

torstai 11. huhtikuuta 2013

Wintergods - Compilation Track 1998


Wintergods - Compilation Track 1998
1) Ancient Temple Lost in Carpathian Hills

Mediafire / Depositfiles

Today we have what might be politely called a filler and it indeed was one, dubbed by a tape trader on a tape after some demos and whatever. This is a (advance?) track from to me unknown compilation tape dating to 1998 (?) by the Greeks Wintergods, a project consisting of Demogorgon (Legion of Doom) and Lord Darkoan (Der Stürmer). They played dark synth music with some vocals, some of which would qualify as dungeon synth and some being closer to black ambient. Obviously there is no cover for a compilation track, I just felt like making something up as all Wintergods logos I could find were tiny. Image "borrowed" from footage.shutterstock.com.

I'm really kind of wasting everyone's time here, at least if you're already a listener of the project, as this track was featured also on the split they did with Funebre Inferi, though the title shortened by one word and it sounded very slightly different. The difference I'm sure has more to do with the dub and/or rip than alternative mix or anything like that. I think this sounded a wee bit "better" than the rip of the split I have, slightly more bottom end to it or something. Also, the split was released in 1997 so I think the compilation would also date to same year or earlier, what with the slightly changed title and all. I just noticed I haven't really said anything what this is like, have I? Dramatic synths, somewhat accented voices either narrating or whispering over it, along with some effected second voice and thundering percussion. Nice. And very short, 2½ minutes, it feels more like an intro. This is an awful lot of text for such a short thing, better stop right now.

sunnuntai 7. huhtikuuta 2013

Nezgaroth - Demo 1-93


Nezgaroth - Demo 1-93
1) Postbellum
2) The Vast Plains of Nifelheim
3) Necronomicum Ex Mortes (pt II)
4) The Final Twilight

Yandex / Medifire

Today's item is doom metal for change, this is the first demo of the Swedes Nezgaroth whom I'd been wanting to hear since I read about them in Goetia #2. Don't know why I never got around to order their demos but eventually I got the demos from traders, this one was sent along with some other items burned onto CDr so it's not my rip. Well, except that I ripped it from the CDr but you know what I mean. No covers either, the image above was borrowed from Metal Archives. I'd like a real cover scan, as usual.

Nezgaroth was formed in 1992 by a bunch of guys most of whom played also in the death metal band Vomitory, which did have a quite long career releasing 8 albums. Nezgaroth only released two demos and recorded some rehearsal tapes to a few people. I'd be interested to hear these as they (should) contain material that wasn't on either demos. The guys were probably a bit ahead of their time as their brand of more traditional doom metal wasn't that popular in the early 90's. Four songs spread over 30 minutes so they're mostly quite long. The sound is not very powerful, all the instruments are audible enough and all that but it'd need a bit more substance to the low end especially. Vocals are mainly clean singing, sounding melancholic and kind of... weary? Which suits the music, of course. Maybe not the greatest vocalist I've heard nor the worst or bad in general so I'm fine with this. He provides some variation with narrated parts and changing the tone from track to track, the weary melancholic approach of the first track being replaced by a raspier, more aggressive voice on the second song, almost growling at places. "Necronomicum..." falls somewhere between the previous examples plus features some very Sabbathy riffs which is always cool. Actually the raspier sort of vocal is more common than the melancholic one. Oh well, listen for yourself if you enjoy doom metal, it's good stuff!

torstai 4. huhtikuuta 2013

Emperor - Live at Tavastia 24.5.1997


Emperor - Live at Tavastia, Helsinki Finland 24th May 1997
1) The Loss And Curse Of Reverence
2) Ye Entrancemperium
3) Thus Spake The Nightspirit
4) I Am The Black Wizards
5) With Strenght I Burn
6) Night Of The Graveless Souls
7) Ensorcelled by Khaos
8) The Majesty Of The Nightsky
9) A Fine Day To Die
10) Inno A Satana
11) Opus A Satana (Outro)
12) The Loss And Curse Of Reverence (Encore)
13) Opus A Satana (Outro - Again)

Depositfiles / Yandex / Rusfolder (you better know how to use it)

I'm going to attend a gig today so I felt like posting a live bootleg would be in order (plus the coin came up tails), here's a live show from 1997 which I ripped from a tape sent by one of my traders by a band most of you probably know already. I recall it was this same show that was on "Live in Frostland" bootleg CD but can't verify as I don't have that one. Tracklisting is very similar but I believe they did the same set just about everywhere around then. Could be same recording, could be not, it doesn't matter. Less than epic cover took many precious minutes of my life to make.

This is an audience recording with a pretty decent sound. It gets a little messy at times which is to be expected considering the Emperor material of 1997 combined with their live performing experience at the time and Tavastia itself. Very listenable still if you're a veteran bearing many scars (probably mostly emotional) of listening to the live bootlegs I've uploaded so far. Even a rookie should manage. The second album wasn't out yet by this time so the audience is a bit at loss with the new tracks from time to time yet curiously some of the people seem to recognize them. I don't think things leaked to the internet yet at that time, advance tapes or something maybe? Unfortunately, as is quite typical, we get to "enjoy" some dialogue of the spectators as a byproduct of the audience recording status. At least it's not of the worst sort and adds character, local colour and whatnot to the recording. The setlist and show itself is okay, I would certainly have prefered more "Wrath of the Tyrant" material in (that's what I always do - it doesn't even have to be Emperor on stage) and something more from "In the Nightside Eclipse" or at least I would've swapped "The Majesty..." in favour of something else. Naturally the band would be keen on playing the new stuff, that's understandable, but it's quite challenging thing to do when the album's not out yet. The encore is pretty damn lame, didn't they really have anything else rehearsed?!? Oh well, the more I listen to this the better it actually sounds and I start to feel a need to drink beer so something is definitely right. Recommended if you like Emperor and are not a pussy that can't stomach a raw live sound. Especially as it's not that rough a ride!

Witchcraft #4


Witchcraft Magazine, issue 4 (summer 1995)
Interviews:
Dark Funeral
Manes
Behemoth
Hour of the Goat (radioshow)
Esoteric
Orphaned Land
Wild Rags Records
Allerseelen
Alchemist
Articles:
Bundeswehra
"Odinism and Northern Belief"
Will 'o' Wisp
Dew-Scented
Scepter
Moaning Wind
Haggard
Brunei scene report
Prophanity
+ the usual (demos, 'zines, albums) and unusual (comics, manga etc.) reviews

Reuploaded - 2022

And yet another contribution, this one a bit unusual as I was sent an actual physical copy of this 'zine by comrade Kurgan, thank you! Scanned this already... months ago, can't remember when exactly, but as I did that at work the quality is better than the early ones done at home. Which is good as this is quite fancy a 'zine, especially for 1995! I hadn't read any of the previous (or possible following) issues of Witchcraft magazine from Germany so I can't say a thing about them. The issue at hand is clearly made with a certain vision and goal plus experience gained from the preceeding efforts. Too bad it's not really that good a read at least for yours truly. Certainly some of the bands and features are interesting but overall I just don't seem to connect with the editor's views here. Looks nice but leaves a shallow feeling. Again, it could be just me so please go ahead and read it with an open mind or something like that. It's pretty compact read at 36 pages and has a very readable lay-out so you might just as well read it now instead of my ramblings.

UPDATE: You might be interested to know Witchcraft Magazine is still alive and kicking, see here for more information!

tiistai 2. huhtikuuta 2013

Flagellant - Hyperborean demo 2005


Flagellant (fin) - Hyperborean demo II 2005
1) Manifest
2) The Moon Hangs Cold & Distant
3) Pulling Into Black
4) Ruins
5) Hyperborean
6) Melancholy

Mediafire / Yandex / RGhost

Another offering to the Coven, this one sent, also already last year, by Joel. Thank you comrade! You might want to check out some of his projects at Bandcamp. This is the second demo of Finnish Flagellant, not to be mixed with the Swedish one signed to W.T.C. or the German one. According to Joel the project was also known as Romentola at some point of their run and the guys play nowadays death metal in Amputory's ranks. No cover scan as Joel had no access to a scanner but at least there's a pic he took of the cover. If you have the first demo and/or can scan the cover for this one get in touch!

Flagellant's black metal sounds raw yet clear and is quite melodic, with varying tempos and Darkthronesque groove (black metal DT) in it. The audible bass, as usual, delights me. The ~23 minute demo consists of an intro track, three "proper" tracks, an instrumental in the middle and another which serves as an outro. The vocals are ok if nothing special to scribble page after page in your journal. In the end it's an enjoyable demo and recommendable if you like Finnish ug black metal with almost rehearsal-like yet clean demo sound. Leaves me wanting to hear the first demo now.

Akhkharu - Nos Noctium Dominarium (1996)


Akhkharu (us) - Nos Noctium Dominarium cassette album 1996
1) Summoning The Sacred Staff
Of The Genetic Essence Of Vampiric Blood
2) Nos Dominari Noctus
3) Summoning The Astral Blood Essence
Adu Enki En I
4) Communion Of The Brotherhood
Deny Thy Mortal Self
5) Ammaranth
Of The Feeding And Consumation Of Blood
6) Funeral Winds Of Necromantic Summonings
7) De Arcanum Opus Noctium
The Ending Cycle Of Lilith

Depositfiles

Late spring and the recent xtian death worship festival have moved the Coven again to perform necromancy, however this stirring will be temporary. The tomb vomits forth another contribution, the cadaver exhumed by brother nada88pe already last year but it took me quite long to prepare the corpse for its second birth. What we have here is a tape album, released by the US label Dark Age Productions (DAP 014), by the second Akhkharu mentioned in this old post. This is their 3rd album, about an hour in lenght and consisting of seven ritual ambient pieces split on two sides of the tape and herein was the problem I had presenting this to unlife: the tracks all blend into one another and with this sort of musick it's quite a task to try to split it into individual tracks. Nada88pe had, naturally, ripped his tape just into side A & B and that would've been fine except that if it has seven separately named tracks I must have it as seven separate tracks! I finally got it done and am quite confident I split them roughly where intended. Sadly nada88pe had no access to a scanner so cover scans are not included, just some images I took from the Discogs page.

Good if low-fi sound and ripped from a very good condition tape. Ritual ambient with Sumerian/vampiric/Qlippoth themes, to quote the label: "seven summonings of highly ritualistic low-frequency masterwork...exploring the dominion of night" - I'm not so sure of the masterwork part but it's superior to the other Akhkharu I posted earlier and very interesting listen. With less instrumentation (and personnel!) and variation in the voices than Equimanthorn the projects nevertheless have a slightly similar feel to them. Or it might be the common themes and connections. Whatever, I'm getting fed up trying to come up with comparisons and name dropping, if you're at all into ritual or black ambient, dungeon synth and similar genres you'll give this a listen. Thanks again to my Perúvian comrade for the rip and I'm still on the look for their other tapes!