Martyrium - Through the Aeon demo 1992

Martyrium - Through the Aeon demo I 1992
1) Enuma Elish
2) Lucifer Rising
3) Forgotten Spheres
4) Invocation of Maat

Yandex / Zippyshare

Moving along the coastline to west we arrive in Germany and it's time to fulfill an old request (I think, not sure anymore) with the help of comrade Baldemar, thanks for the rip and scan! This is Martyrium with their first demo "Through the Aeon" from 1992. Martyrium, along with Ungod was among the first second wave German black metal bands to release an album and after their split up Daevas went on to form Secrets of the Moon and Ferneus started Mosu Quma. Which is all super-interesting but let's not move forward and instead concentrate on Martyrium for now. I recall from somewhere this was supposed to have crappy rehearsal quality but I must disagree with that, the sound is very clear and crispy. Clearer than on the following demo if more "hollow" and spacious so to say. Not exactly powerful though and the vocals are dominant but everything can be heard with ease. I increased the volume slightly but did no other meddling. Sounds very underground and nostalgic to my ears.

Three of the songs here would appear on the album "L.V.X. Occulta" as well, the versions here are a bit more stripped down (no keyboards, "Lucifer Rising" has no intro, that sort of stuff) but in general Martyrium's vision was pretty much unchanged in the few years of their activity (and somewhat carried on to early SotM). If you haven't heard "Arcanum de via Occulta" (which I'd need a better rip of, by the way) or the album this won't be a bad place to start I suppose, their take on occult black metal was quite unique and tended to be very divisive affair in general. If you're interested in the early (second wave) German black metal this is pretty much mandatory but recommended to others as well.

Northland - Śmierć to nienawiść demo 1995

Northland - Śmierć to nienawiść demo 1995
1) Światowit
2) Stormwind
3) Mokradła Swarożyca
4) Złoty koń Czernoboha

RGhost / Yandex

The Coven's Baltic Sea tour moves further south and a bit west too as today is Poland's turn. Well, actually there would be that bit of Russia with Kaliningrad but since we already did Russia it's fair to skip ahead a bit. Here is another contribution, a nameless benefactor sent me some items burned on a disc and this was among them, one of the three '95 demos of Northland. I think someone was looking for these the other year and one ("Nadchodzące zło") can already be found online so that leaves two missing, unless there are some unreleased/super-limited things out there. No cover, I used the rather charming image of Nahald found on Metal Archives. He probably enjoyed Salvatore's early books. Speaking of Metal Archives, the Northland entry claims the band changed to synth project later but this is already fully ambient material.

Pretty short demo as three of the four songs are in "intro-lengths" with durations ranging from 01:06 to 02:07. The first track has a rather neoclassical feel to it while second one sounds wonderfully casiolike and has that old game soundtrack/dungeon synth-vibe. Third one is middle ground for the first two, quite solemn though that feeling is a bit ruined by the background (I guess?) noise at 01:33 or so, sounds like a car alarm or really cheesy UFO sound effect kicking in. Fortunately it is fleeting and not very loud but still a little jarring. The last, longest song is another solemn piece, I think I hear some Burzum-influence there which is not a problem in the slightest. Enjoyable demo and I certainly want to hear at least the other non-metal demo. At least in small doses synth-Northland is vastly better than metal-Northland. Recommended, even if you hated "Czernoboh" (most reviewers did, back in the day).

Valefar - Frigus Ex Tenebris Venit (both versions)

Valefar - Frigus Ex Tenebris Venit demo 1996
1) Intro
2) In Memoriam Dead
3) Šešėliais renkasi sielos
4) Seni užkeikimai Drakulos pily
5) Asmodeuso karo liepsna
6) Ne šio gyvenimo tamsa
7) Sninga sninga...
8) Nors tu Vyteni ir neateisi...
9) Sodomos himnas

4shared / Depositfiles

Travelling further south the Baltic lands we arrive in Lithuania where the members of the black metal bands Anubi and Nahash joined forces for a common project Valefar whose demo I have here. Ripped from my copy of the tape (which I bought used from somewhere) and includes scans that I kind of botched, the outside (front) and inside of the cover got scanned at different qualities. Well, at least you can easily read the lyrics now. Presuming you understand the language. This is the Ledo Takas version of the cassette.

I got a rip of this among other contributions recently from comrade Baldemar but decided to go with my version anyways as I had already it waiting for finishing touches (= me to get off my ass and divide it into tracks and add tags). Interestingly the two rips have a moderate difference in sound, on mine the vocals seem to be almost completely on the left channel and sound somewhat louder while on the rip I was sent both channels look to be the same. I wonder if the two different versions of the tape had a different mix or whatever technicalities, the rip I was sent seems to be released by Sanahtas Mod distribution in 1995. The Sanahtas address is exactly same as Ledo Takas so it'd be the first version and SM changed name to LT in '96 and put out a second edition of the tape. Now that I think about it, I'll upload both versions so stop the press, change the post title!

Valefar - Frigus Ex Tenebris Venit demo 1995
1) Intro
2) In Memoriam Dead
3) Šešėliais renkasi sielos
4) Seni užkeikimai Drakulos pily
5) Asmodeuso karo liepsna
6) Ne šio gyvenimo tamsa
7) Sninga sninga...
8) Nors tu Vyteni ir neateisi...
9) Sodomos himnas

Mega

So there, that's Baldemar's rip. Pick either one or both, whatever your preference may be. I guess it might be good to say something more about the actual contents instead of droning on about versions, covers and other crap. I presume everyone's already familiar with the main bands of the members? Good, this is actually a lot like a mixture of them, Anubi's oddness tempered by Nahash's somewhat more traditional black metal approach but the result is still obscure sounding. Tracklisting can be roughly divided into four (generally longer) metal tracks and five intros, interludes and/or non-metal tracks (most on the short side). The first proper track actually sounds to me a lot like a mixture of 90's Polish black metal and Urfaust. Yes, the vocals do it, clean somewhat operatic voice combined with heavily echoing black metal vox. Sound is gloriously murky, unhealthy (to steal a term from esteemed Stregoica 'zine) and slightly chaotic, especially on my tape. Which annoying also suffers from some tape wear or errors. The old version's sound is a little clearer but also less obscure. Enought text, it's recommended, listen to it already.

Heresiarh - Dragons of War demo 1998

Heresiarh - Dragons of War demo 1998
1) Horns of War
2) The Cruel Bard
3) Lamenting Shield-maid
4) Dragons Domain
5) Wolfghosts (In Winter)
6) Ælfwine
7) Hidden Live Track

Zippyshare / Mega

South of Estonia lies Latvia, our next stop with this contribution picked from the seemingly inexhaustible supply of rips Henri sent me. Strangely enough, I had also ripped my copy already long time ago but it got stuck in the unfinished items folder, so thanks for saving me the trouble! Though I had to work a bit on my audio to add the seventh, untitled "hidden" bonus live song master Sorvali had either forgotten or left off for some reason. But back to business, this is Heresiarh, Elven Witchcraft's Morgueldar Dragonseye's own band with their one and only demo. Scans of the quite fancy covers are included.

Heresiarh labels themselves as "dragon metal" which on this release means melodic metal based on dark/black metal with vague touches of gothic and folk to it. Vocals are divided between the roars and growls of Morgueldar and the female voice provided by Rasa which has a strange divisive quality to it; I remember I used to like the vocals back when I got this tape originally, then much later returning to it I could not stand them. Now I'm somewhere on the fence, but still can't say I'd enjoy this demo like in my youthful days. In theory the sound is good for a demo, but also there something bothers me. Would be interesting to hear this as an instrumental version, or with vocals mixed lower or something. The additional live track sounds frustratingly familiar but I can't remember what it is, I'm pretty sure it's either a cover or some traditional piece that has also been used by someone else. The great Skyforger pops to mind but not any particular song that'd fit timeframe. As usual, if you have knowledge do share. Interestingly, I also enjoy this performance more than the studio recording. I guess that's not really a surprise to people who know me by now. Nice screams by Rasa. Recommended for people driven to collect all Elven Witchcraft releases, fantasy metal enthusiasts and, uh, people who enjoy epic sort of melodic metal I suppose. It just doesn't click with me these days like it used to, though I'm likely to eventually change my mind again.

Whispering Forest - Darkest Side demo III 1997

 Whispering Forest - Darkest Side demo III 1997
1) Curse
2) The Doomed
3) Untitled
4) Darkest Side
5) Green Eyes
6) I Shall Return
7) Last Sunset
8) Path of the Dead
9) Shine of Lethe
10) Black Orchid

Mediafire / Rusfolder

I thought I'd stay in the neighbouring countries and this time we're going south of the border. No, that's not Mexico, for us Finns it is a few hours on a boat (getting drunk is optional) and we arrive in Estonia from where hails this atmospheric death/doom band, the late Whispering Forest. They made (at least) four demo tapes, an album (released twice) and a demo or a self-released EP in 2001 before calling it a day. I got this rip, as well as some other Estonian items burned on a disc from comrade Veiko last year in Steelfest, thanks again! And yes, I took my sweet time getting to post this but I had a very decent excuse for at least part of the delay. Sadly I've no covers for this (if I had, things would be different!) so scans would be very much appreciated. I made a (pretty nice) placeholder "cover" for this too, but decided against posting it in case I get the actual cover scan later.

So what took so long? Simple, the tracklisting was incorrect and it's a real pain trying to figure it out with a band you're not very familiar with. Unsurprisingly, Metal Archives' entry didn't match either and Estonian Metal's was just copied from M.A. so no help there. Looks like that tracklisting completely ignored the intro/interlude tracks but it also had the songs in wrong (or different?) order. Fortunately most songs reappeared on the debut album and had lyrics available so once I got to work it wasn't as impossible as it seemed. And some of the others which did not reappear fortunately included the song title in the lyrics so it was pretty easy to guess those out. Anyways, I was still left with one untitled track, the third one which is a just below minute long interlude sort of bit. I toyed with the idea of just adding it to the title track as intro but then again the other two similar tracks were named and identified so I just left it untitled and separate in hopes of someone with a scan or at least more accurate knowledge appearing. The band's email address was naturally a dead end after all this time.

But enough of me whining about how hard I have it, let's talk about the music. It's atmospheric death/doom with gothic touches. Can I go now? Maybe a few words more, the obvious name drop is always My Dying Bride but instead of the UK folks I'm thinking about the various Czech bands like Dissolving of Prodigy, Silent Stream of Godless Elegy, Love History and what have you. Also the Norwegians The Sins of Thy Beloved comes to mind. Main voice alternates between bellowing death grunts and black metal-esque rasping croaks which is cool. The additional female vocals are, as expected, clear and ethereal and bring someone to my mind yet frustratingly I can't remember who right now!!! They're quite good, whoever it is I'm trying to think. There are some gothic touches overall but they get an extremely prominent front stage role on "Shine of Lethe" which is practically gothic metal/rock hybrid with vocals to match, unlike the album version they're male and the song is generally faster and a little "lighter" so to say. In general the versions here are refreshingly different from the later ones and the more I listen to this, the better I like it. Recommeded, especially if you enjoy atmospheric death/doom and related material. Now I want to hear the older demos too.

Silence of Graveyard - Храм вечной скорби demo 2000

Silence of Graveyard - Храм вечной скорби demo 2000
1) Могильная тишина
2) Пред краем бездны
3) Погребение
4) Храм вечной скорби
5) ...И разверглись небеса

 Reuploaded - 2022

From Finland to abroad again with another contribution sent by Eugene, thanks once more, this was actually sent before the compilation I posted first thing this year here, but that one took priority. This item is a demo of Russian project Silence of Graveyard, hailing from Voronezh and this is the extent of our information for now. The title translates as "Temple of Eternal Grief" and individual tracks (rough Google translations... which you could've done yourself) "Sepulchral Silence", "Before the Edge of the Abyss", "Funeral" and something about heaven that didn't translate correctly. So, looks quite gothy and darkwavey based on the titles and the image of the artist standing by someone's grave.

Sounds too, music is instrumental darkwave with at times almost martial percussions and some electric guitar for that extra bite. Though I got this labeled as dungeon synth I'm reluctant to call it that myself as even if I do feel the dungeon vibe at times I think this feels more gothic, mournful and funereal than medieval, nostalgic or, uh, fantastic. Then again, the sound does vary from track to track and some bits feel totally appropriate so I'm kinda on the fence here. Well, I'm no authority or a specialist on the genre in the end so I suppose I just include that tag too. Eugene called the music "kinda second-rate DS" but I seem to like this today. The rip is low bitrate, unfortunately, but the sound is good. Give it a try!

Cerberus #6

Cerberus 'zine, issue 6 (summer 2000)
Interviews:
Exhumation
Love History
Nightly Gale
Mental Home
Necromicon
Insanity Reigns Supreme
Opeth
Lethal Prayer
Evemaster
+ reviews

Mediafire

Haven't posted a 'zine for a while now so let's fix this with another sending by comrade Kurgan, thanks for the donation! Cerberus was a long-running Finnish 'zine started in '92 and centered mostly on death metal with some nods to doom(/death) and black metal as well. All issues were rather compact in size, ranging between 20 and 40 pages, this episode being 36. Not sure how much longer they carried on after this, two more perhaps? I've never owned the past issues myself, I just vaguely remember browsing through someone else's copy of issue... uh, it was probably three?

Ok, so I'm not going to dwell in their past but looking at this issue the editors' experience is obvious and their English is also very good. Unfortunately the content just isn't very interesting. Well, the reviews are quite long and written with more than average effort so they do count. The band roster just isn't my chalice of venom, but perhaps the readers of the blog might find something intriguing among the lot. I might later get some of the back issues which look to be more to my liking, of course their era helps in this regard. The turn of the millennium just doesn't have the appeal of the early and mid-90's. Still, it's well made and worth a shot if you read 'zines at all.

Myrkwid - Hymn demo 1998

Myrkwid - Hymn demo IV 1998
1) The Witch
2) A Night...
3) Fog
4) Krigsgud
5) Hymn!
6) Hulemdverg

Rusfolder / Mega

The fourth and last Myrkwid demo of the batch I was sent, thanks once again to my contributor! A large cover scan is included, with a bit more stuff on it this time around. The sound is a little off-balanced, favouring the right speaker. I've experimented adjusting the sound slightly, the difference isn't very great, just enough to make it more balanced but in the end decided to upload the rip I got as-is instead of meddling. If someone wants to hear the "balanced" version let me know and I'll upload it.

Someone said the first four Myrkwid demos would be the best ones so I guess this ends a chapter here. Much is similar to the previous demos but still slight progress has happened. This one is also the longest of the bunch but features an oldie as "Hulemdverg" from demo I is revisited. If you've enjoyed your journey with Myrkwid so far I suppose there's no reason not to listen to this part as well. Personally I like this probably second best of the bunch. Recommended and see the old posts.

Myrkwid - 3 demo 1998

Myrkwid - 3 demo III 1998
1) In the Black...
2) Evil...
3) The Mystical...

Depositfiles / Zippyshare

Enough Finns for now, let's continue with the Myrkwid demos I was sent last year. This is the third one, titled cleverly "3". The cover is extremely minimalistic this time and looks like the song titles might've been left incomplete to add to the mystery. Or perhaps he suddenly started to really like ellipses? Which I, by the way, intensely dislike. But let's not judge him by that. There's some further background on the old Myrkwid posts for the curious.

Three songs like on the previous recording, but this is much shorter which might be a relief to those who felt the songs on first and second demo were too long and a bummer to the ones who enjoy the repetitive, lenghty numbers. No need to be really worried though, it's still the same stuff with the same rough sound. To be honest I don't really have much to say now, if you liked the earlier Myrkwid demos you're probably into this too. Might be a pretty "easy" pick to start with, if you're unfamiliar with the project.

Nemesis - In the Depths of Woods demo 1996

Nemesis (fin) - In the Depths of Woods demo 1996
1) In the Depths of Woods
2) Enthrall the Dark Empire
3) Ylpeänä kuolen
4) Gnomes Journey

Mediafire / Rusfolder

I was supposed to post some synth material already yesterday, but I didn't, I'm doing it today. To continue with Finnish releases here is probably the only demo of Nemesis, a synth project of which I know little about. Well, except the info you may read above and on the cover scan I stole borrowed from Metal Archives. And a review I read on Apocryphal #1 (in Finnish, sorry). I also seem to have a strong mental image of this being a side project of somebody doing something else (another band? 'zine?) but can't connect that to any facts and the pseudonym isn't familiar from anywhere else either. Might just remember plain wrong. Most people (should) anyways think of pre-Candlemass when they think of Nemesis, even if the name is used by more than necessary bands. Thanks to brother Grev for the dub!

The Archives have this listed as black metal but that is just utterly, criminally wrong, there's not a trace of metal here, it's pure synth stuff all four tracks. I'm not totally sure about the track division, the first and last tracks are easy enough to separate as they're so different from the middle part, simple and quite short keyboard pieces, nice enough both but nothing outstanding. The second track (and third) on the other hand are dark ambient with the music and some effects playing in low volume as if somewhere far away. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be inspired by "Dungeons of Darkness" or what but the change is rather jarring and trying on the listener's nerves, especially since this part seems to go on forever and ever. There's a slight change in what I deciphered as being the third track (as well as a short pause which seems to mark where track 2 ends) after a while, somehow the (still) monotonous, almost static music seems to proceed somewhere. Perhaps it's the occasional symbal crashes or something? I might also be going mad listening to this repeatedly. Whatever the case, this is a rather odd release of dark ambient/dungeon synth and can't really be recommeded as casual listening. I'm still not sure if the third part is actually growing on me or am I losing what little sense I have but at least it's doing something, I know I pretty much hated it after first listen and today I don't know what to think. Approach with caution.

Wakboth - Reh.demo 1'95

Wakboth (fin) - Rehearsal demo 1 1995
1) Les rois noirs
2) Pahan prinssi
3) Metsän valtakunta

Mega / RGhost

Finnish black metal, here is Wakboth with their rehearsal demo from 1995, the rip courtesy of brother Suuret Muinaiset. Thank you! No cover and I'm not sure if there ever was one. Obviously I want a scan if it exists. I haven't heard the '96 demo "Dreamking" nor the "new" tape released in 2005 so can't compare the material to those. I've read on M.A. that this would be black/thrash so I presume that's how the later material sounds like. I wouldn't really go label this as black/thrash, just black metal. UPDATE: Well, now I have the 2005 tape and the new material is really straight up black/thrash, not bad on first listen but I prefer the approach here. The '96 demo part is also thrasing and has a shitty sound, worse than here.

As you might know, Wakboth is also the nom de guerre of the Utgard and Azazel string player who handled both guitar and vocals in this project. In a way this already has similarities to what he'd much later play with Azazel. Not going to make too much comparisons with Utgard since I haven't really listened to their stuff as extensively as Azazel's. Rehearsal demo but I think it has a good, raw sound which fits well with the music. Not sure if there's actually more than guitars, vocals and drums on this one but sometimes that's enough. First two tracks are short, less than three minutes while the third goes to more usual territory at 4:26 and is musically closer to the first song, both are midtempo in their pace, though "Les rois..." is a bit simpler overall. The second song is the fastest and most viciously aggressive of the lot and stands out for me. The vocals are harsh and range between raspy roars and piercing shrieks, above average performance. I want to mention also the drums that are very audible here, but not overtly dominant, I really enjoy them. This recording leaves me wanting to hear the rest of the material, which was conveniently enough released on one tape. Now I just need to find it. (UPDATE: I got it, thanks DM!) Meanwhile this is recommended, especially if you're into Wakboth's later endeavours (not sure about Absence which I haven't heard).

Cemetery Fading - As Thy Fullmoon Dies... demo 1996

Cemetery Fading - As Thy Fullmoon Dies... demo I 1996
1) Candle Dawn
2) The Final Symphony
3) Angel of the Woods
4) As Thy Fullmoon Dies...

Zippyshare / Yandex

Despite the title featuring both "thy" and "fullmoon" today's post is not black metal. Instead we have doom metal performed by a one-man project with what sounds like drum machine and to up the ante it is instrumental. This is pretty marginal, I'd say. Once again we have master Sorvali to thank for the rip and cover scans. Look at that font, those pixels, how can you not love this?

Well, that love might not survive listening to all (nearly) thirty minutes of the content. This is instrumental doom, with a drum machine, by one guy. Yeah, let that stew for a while. It's not heavy, crushing, destructive, depressive or mournful. It's not very groovy or beautiful either. Nor is it very dark, more like... dim? It's somewhat atmospheric, I'll give it that, and a bit odd. There's plenty of synths, so much that in places it sounds more like a synth project than metal. Sometimes the sound actually reminds me of Sacrilegeous' stuff. There's certain disarming awkwardness to this too, another similarity there I suppose. I don't really know what more to say about this, except that the demo was dedicated to My Dying Bride. Wonder if they ever found out about that? A weird demo and hard to say whom I should recommend this to, but I'm certain somewhere out there someone will cherish and treasure this half an hour offering too.

Barathrum - Rehearsal for 3rd cd "Infernal" (1996)

Barathrum - Rehearsal for 3rd cd "Infernal" rehearsal tape 1996
1) The Night of the Demon Lord
2) The Blasphemer
3) Warmetal
4) Deliver a Battle
5) Death is Saviour
6) Leaving the World of Mortals
7) Deadmarch
8) Ethereal Guest
9) Immortal Warrior
10) Demon Est Deus Inversus

 Reuploaded - 2022

Here's another big post and one that got a lot more delayed than originally intended, here's a rehearsal tape/promo by the one and only Barathrum for the third album "Infernal" which I borrowed from comrade passetiermes along with a bunch of other cassettes and 'zines last year. Thanks again to him for cooperating with the Coven! Obscure Barathrum tapes just keep showing up, I don't remember seeing mentions of this before I got it but at least this one has a good old fashioned cut-and-paste cover by Sova which has been scanned for your convenience that provides enough information.

Here's the info bit from the cover.

What was the reason for the delay in getting this done? Well, I was wondering if the tape ran at correct speed after ripping this as it sounded a bit slower than expected and I was left wondering if I should increase the speed and if so how much. After letting the rip sit for a bit I decided that was just delusional horse manure, the tape was fine and it merely sounded different for being a rehearsal recording made with a three man line-up and all that. So here it is, without any further meddling.

Skulls are cool. Notice the extremely faintly visible contact address and symbol.

Enough of your background exposition and other crap, what is it like compared to the album? Different. If the album is like scrying on a black mass ceremony performed at the altar of some abandoned Orthodox church, rickety and drafty yet still possessed of a warped magnificence, this is more akin to wandering in lightless catacombs and hearing the echoes of a bizarre ritual performed by madmen rumble somewhere in the murky gloom. Yeah, sure, not "Sanctus Satanas" crazy though. It's messy, heavier and simply quite different beast from the album. Some songs are longer, others shorter, many are more stripped down versions while others have elements present not on the album. The sound is kinda cool once you adjust to it, though the fastest parts tend to curl up to a ball and roll downhill uncontrollably. As you see from the tracklisting this is the whole album minus the almost fifteen minute title track, still almost an hour of material. It can be a bit daunting task to sit through a rehearsal recording that long but don't be a pussy, it's worth your while. Recommended for fans of Barathrum, obviously, and to any who enjoy low-end heavy, old schoolish black metal with doom touches.

Chronicles of Elven Witchcraft - Scroll One: Through the Dragon's Orb (1998)

Various Artists - Chronicles of Elven Witchcraft - Scroll One: Through the Dragon's Orb (1998)
Side Lion:
1) Utumno - Orkferd
2) Keep Of Kalessin - Skygger av Sorg II
3) Hypnos - A Lost Piece Through the Mist of Time
4) Zavorash - Return from Grace
5) Valar - At the Gates of Mordor
6) Warloghe - Witch-Song
7) Enid - An Myrrddhinn
8) Raventhrone - The Three-Faced King of Dominion One
9) Maze Of Cako Torments - Kalakiai Opiumis Sizmarshi
10) Horna - Outro
Side Unicorn:
11) Cernunnos - Dasos Ton Tragopodaron Daimonon
12) Heresiarh - The Cruel Bard
13) Slovisha - В лecy
14) Azaghal - Tuonelan porteilla
15) Rakoth - Return of the Nameless
16) Skyforger - Virsaitis Nameisis
17) Svartalfheim - Well of the Highest Knowledge
18) Urospuu - The Black Forest, Part II - Evil Nazgul
19) Kharadrai - My Void Is No More
20) Across The Scarlet Moat - Gold Elvish Tea
21) Trolltjern - Efterord

4shared / Mega

Ok, let's start this year off with yet another compilation tape, but this might be again a bit more interesting as it is the first Elven Witchcraft compilation (though released on the sublabel Engwar) which was sent to me by comrade Eugene who would like us to know this is available due to efforts of two Discogs users, from Finland and Lithuania. So thanks to these people! Cover scans are included. And yes, I recall I promised vile oozing black muck this year but all in good time!

We've come across Elven Witchcraft already several times here in the Coven, usually in connection with fantasy-inspired metal and dungeon synth. Obviously the compilation contains both as well as folky tunes, emphasis more on metal though a few of the metal bands (three to be accurate, Utumno, Horna and Cernunnos) contribute ambient tracks (intros/outros). The music ranges from rather pure black metal (Warloghe, Zavorash - who sound really like Immortal here) to more bombastic fantasy metal stuff (Enid, Rakoth) to folkish/heathen sounds (Hypnos, Slovisha) to pure ambient/synth (Kharadrai, Trolltjern). And as an oddity Urospuu's black/grind. Standouts include Trolltjern's still excellent closer, Zavorash and Cernunnos (I want that cassette album) from the good and the ever-awful Svartalfheim plus Heresiarh (which I used to like but nowadays their female vocals grate my nerves really badly) from the bad. Across The Scarlet Moat suffers from having much lower volume than the rest of the stuff, otherwise the volumes are fine enough and things flow rather well together. Recommendable compilation even though most of the material might be familiar to long time devotees.