Sodom - Live at Metallysee Festival 28-12-85

Sodom - Live at Metallysee Festival, Zaal Jachthoorn, Denderhoutem Belgium 28th December 1985 (received as Live 21.02.85 - it's different recording from 28.12.85 live in Aalst (?) released on Black Equinox bootleg CD which has odd tracklisting in general)
1) Outbreak of Evil
2) Witching Metal
3) Burst Command til War
4) Obsessed by Cruelty
5) Blasphemer (horribly cuts, only beginning!)

RGhost / Depositfiles

I felt, for some strange reason, like doing another thrash item and coupled with a long overdue live attendance this upcoming weekend I decided to post this horribly incomplete but ever-so-entertaining Sodom live tape from '85. I got this years and years ago from a tape trader as filler, unfortunately cut right when Blasphemer is about to kick off and being only 13+minutes long in must be even more incomplete than that. Then again, like this it could be crammed onto a 7"EP. Anyways, it was also misdated to 21st February while comparison and quick research determines this to be another recording of the Metallysee Festival gig and interestingly Setlist.fm gives the same tracklisting as my dub had! Don't know much about the event itself but apparently Blind Fury, Iron Angel and Kreator also performed.

I mentioned comparing this to something and that was the "Black Equinox" bootleg, made by the infamously inaccurate Omerta in 2004 (not 2001 like Discogs suggests, it reads on the damn cover), which I got back a few years ago from Lockjaw blog (RIP). The bootleg's tracklisting contains no less than nine tracks:
1. Outbreak of Evil
2. Deathlike Silence
3. Blasphemer
4. Equinox
5. Witching Metal
6. Burst Command til War
7. Obsessed by Cruelty
8. Witchhammer
9. Sepulchral Voice
It's also clearly a different recording, with much more audience noise and as you see the track order is either for some bizarre reason switched or it actually manages to be a different gig which just happens to have exactly same speeches in between the songs. Oh and it gives same date but as venue Aalst. It's easy to hear the order on my dub is unchanged as I chopped it into tracks without cuts so all flows together while the "Black Equinox" has very subtle cuts in between songs.

Whatever may the case be, this is classic first wave black metal Teutonic thrash hammer and extremely enjoyable despite ending way too soon. The sound is clean, songs great (including my current favourite Obsessed by Cruelty) so if you like German vintage thrash and old dirty proto black metal this is a no-brainer.

Demise - ...Thrashed!!! demo '96

Demise (grc) - ...Thrashed!!! demo 1996
1) God Forbid
2) You Can Lie (But Cannot Hide)
3) Maneating Warhorse
4) Never Coming Back
5) Demise

Mediafire / Sendspace

Let's kick this week off with something different from our usual fares. This is the Greek Demise (yeah there are again something like 6000-7000 bands with the same name and most seem to be death metal and I don't think I remember a single one of them), of which I know not much more than M-A and the covers tell. I think this is an earlier version of the '96 "...Thrashed..." tape which featured some songs from the '95 demo III "...Thrashed!!!" - yeah, this has the same name but tracklisting is same as on "...Thrashed..." tape. Confused yet? I am a little. Well, it is recorded in April '96 so that supports my theory. I don't recall where exactly I got this tape, but I'm pretty sure I got it from a trade with a bunch of other tapes not really falling into my field of expertise. Xerox cover which I scanned and a generic 46 min TDK cassette.

Ok so there are five songs here and three of them are re-recordings from the previous demo, while Demise and the amazingly named Maneating Warhorse are new for this version. Total playing time is 21 minutes and the sound is just a little stuffy, not really that good for a studio recording, in my humble opinion. Well, it's the cymbals that aggravate me, they sound sort of frayed, broken and keep distracting me from the rest of content. If I really, really force myself to ignore them it's otherwise fine. I guess. The high end generally seems to be slightly askew. And this whining from a man who generally prefers ancient primitive Teutonic thrash to any sort of technical prowess and polished sound. I can't claim to know much of thrash in general despite it being somewhat mandatory part of growing up in the 80's, like Iron Maiden and Kiss were practically part of elementary school curriculum, I like some of the elders but can't say I'd be qualified to judge entries to the genre properly. Still, this is pretty good, there are parts that remind me of Kreator, older Death Angel and uh... stuff. The aforementioned ....Warhorse has synths that are suitably spicy. Give up already, you're not going anywhere with this. True, so I recommend this if you like Greek metal and thrash in general and I should really acquire the compilation of Macabre Operetta demos, which was the black metal band some of these guys played in.

Mjölnir - Mjölnir demo II '96

Mjölnir - Mjölnir demo II 1996
1) Intro / Schwertzeit, Wolfszeit, Blutzeit
2) Heilige Macht der Flamme
3) Die Kunde aus ferner Zeit
4) Schwertzeit, Windzeit, Wolfszeit
5) Intro / Ihm
6) Dein ist der Thron König des Waldes
7) In der Halle der Wölwa

Mega / Sampo

Let us finally complete the Mjölnir saga of the Coven with this post dedicated to sister Borderline, congrats! I say complete which in a way is not entirely true, "Walpurgisfeuer" demo will be skipped as it was released as part of the excellent "Hinweg über die Tore der Zeit" re-release done by Darker Than Black which is highly recommended. This is the second demo, nevermind the Metal Archives disinformation claiming this to be 1st, we've already established that "The Hour of Lemegeton" was the debut demo and released in '95. I do not remember anymore how I came to set this to '96 but I'm sure I had a good reason. The little cover scan is not very helpful on the matter.

I received this demo from the same contributor that delivered the first demo and unfortunately this had a bit questionable track division too. I would've posted the rip much earlier had I found the drive to delve into yet another Mjölnir riddle sooner. But enough moaning, it should be done now and I've taken a very different approach to it than for example the M-A submitter. I went with the theory that the Intro / title combos were not an intro plus a song but rather than that intro and its name. That made the tracklisting easier to wrestle and yields now a shortish intro, a long track, a VERY long track of three quite distinct parts, an instrumental track, another intro of brief sort, again a long track and a bit longer instrumental track. The lyrics, as they can be heard, seem to fit too. I must mention the rip might be slightly incomplete as both instrumental tracks seem to end quite abruptly, I'm quite sure the last one is just missing a few seconds more of fade out but can't be very confident of Schwertzeit, Windzeit, Wolfzeit that ends the A... oh pardon me, Hugin side.

Another slight issue is the lowish bitrate of the rip, so I would still appreciate an original copy or a very good dub of the demo. Sound itself is comparable to other Mjölnir demos, maybe a bit better than the average. The band is here also a three-piece, with Bölthorn standing beside Arkthorn and Grimmiger Frost. Perhaps his presence on the percussion adds strength to the proceedings or maybe it is my elation getting this damned thing finally done, but right now I feel like this is my favourite Mjölnir demo. Some highlights include: the long, long Die Kunde... which manages to be entirely great and the steady pound, pound, pound of Dein ist der Thron... Gotta love that! I won't go further into details, this is highly recommended for Mjölnir fans, trawlers of the murky depths of German UG and people who enjoy ambient instrumentals featuring nature sounds such as wind, bubbling water and wolves.

Deadly Funeral - Deathlike Silence reh.demo '91

Deadly Funeral - Deathlike Silence rehearsal demo 29th June 1991
1) Intro - To Buffalo
2) Satan's Fart
3) Mosh with God
4) Deadly Funeral
5) Deathlike Silence
6) Lasagne
7) Basisti Is Dead

Depositfiles / Mega

I thought tonight would be a suitable time to post another equally elder item, though far less grim than the previous post. Our... I'll be lenient and call them a "band" ...no, I won't, lads hail from Finland and this rehearsal/demo recording from a summer's day of 1991 is their sole release. This is Deadly Funeral, "Kerava's most awesome band after Stone" as they state on their Facebook page. Yes, there is one. Alas, I found out about it only after I had asked brother Suuret Muinaiset to dub this on a tape with some other items, which I should probably post instead but I'm hellbent to share fruits of our labour with you first. You see, it can also be found on YouTube, as a slightly abridged version. Not that this one would be much longer. Cover images (yes, the logo is the cover) from the Fb page.

You can read the saga of Deadly Funeral in here, but unfortunately that's in Finnish. I don't know how much Google translate can manage to do for you so perhaps I should attempt to do a summary in English. Damn, this would be a good time to have a kid to have them do it as a school assignment. Here we go...

The events surrounding the birth, demo and only review of said recording of Deadly Funeral took place in Kerava and Siilinjärvi, Finland anno 1990-92. During the period the band members whom we call here only as Guitarist, Bassist and Drummer were between 15 and 18 years of age. The band was formed by Guitarist with the leading idea the name should end with an 'r' - just like other top names of the era like Slayer, Kreator and Annihilator. No-one could think up a suitable one so the issue was solved with the help of a dictionary where Bassist came across Accumulator, which was instantly picked as it sounded awesome! Nevermind the meaning.

Not a single member could play anything so all instruments were free pickings; as the father of the idea Guitarist chose first, predictably enough, guitar and vocals. Drummer had attempted to learn to drum for roughly a year at the tender age of ten but had quit due total lack of rhythm so his instrument was obvious. Bassist was left with the bass. Naturally they had no instruments either or actual motivation to learn to play them, it was more important to be able to say you played in a band. The band had no message nor anything to say so "lyrics" were on appropriate level, one consisting of the line "I want to eat some lasagne!" - they would naturally be in English because that was the style of the time. Musical style was open as well, simply because they couldn't really play anything. The name for the eventual demo was decided to be "Deadly Funeral" on Drummer's suggestion.

An opportunity arose when the band visited Siilinjärvi and Drummer's associates, a local thrash band called Torment. Torment's guitarist Hate was kindly enough to promise the lads could record their demo at their rehearsal place, using Torment's equipment and a tape recorder. All they needed was a blank tape and inspiration. At first Hate demostrated the various instruments while Accumulator gathered their courage on the sofa. Finally Guitarist and Drummer started to make noise while Bassist sat idly on, flat out refusing to participate. Since this was probably the only chance to record, Guitarist and Drummer decided to go on and make the demo as duo. Hate pressed rec, awful ruckus started and lasted for a few minutes until Hate pressed stop and the demo was done.

Since Bassist had refused to play, having felt too sorry for poor Hate and Torment's gear, he got kicked out and the band's name needed to be changed after such tumultuous event. Lacking better options they decided on the intended demo title. After the return to Kerava finishing touches were needed and the boys had agreed an intro different from the actual content was essential. Guitarist had been in musical class in the (lower) elementary school, as unlikely as it may seem, and had a tape of a school performance from which a rendition of "Buffaloon" (aka "Shuffle off to Buffalo") was dubbed to the beginning of the tape, retitled as "To Buffalo" after which Drummer snarled "vitut me minnekään Buffaloon lähdetä, saatanaaaa" (~"like hell we're going to any Buffalo, fuuuuck") and it was complete. In a few days Guitarist had made a logo, cover and gave titles to the "songs" and the demo itself and the dream was fulfilled.

Guitarist was an avid tape trader and occasionally took the opportunity to dub the Deadly Funeral demo to the end of some unsuspecting soul's tape. [I believe this is how brother SM came to possess a dub.] He also bought fanzines and imagine his surprise when he discovered a review of "Deathlike Silence" within an issue of Hellspawn 'zine! The review said: "I certainly am not a noisefreak but even shit can be done with class. And it can also be done without class as DEADLY FUNERAL proves us. I understand this is a joke but it still gets annoying. I don’t even know why I am writing this." Guitarist immediately rushed to show Drummer the review, basking in the glow of attention. For quite obvious reason the review did not lead to contacts, except one from a small German label who had apparently ignored the content of said review and wrote requesting a copy of the demo. And again the proud guitarist rushed off to show Drummer they had been noticed. In the end they decided agaist sending a tape to Germany, preferring to wait for a bigger label. 25 years later it became apparent there would be no further offers so they though time ripe to put the demo online.

Phew. After whipping that up I don't really feel like writing another novella, so let's get through it quickly... which is pretty easy as the whole epos, even this "uncut version" lasts 4:20 minutes, YT edit 3:22.  Over a third of this is taken by the intro recording which as seen on the bio, is an elementary school performance, almost two minutes. It's kind of haunting thing to have as an intro I must say, would be great for a... uh, sorry, real demo. The following is very enthusiastic bursts of vaguely metal noise, though noise the music style enthusiasts will possibly frown at the use of that word here. Each... song segment runs between 0:11 and 0:40 so it is soon over. I can't honestly suggest anyone to enjoy this though again a few musical deviants will gleefully put it on repeat. The intro would be neat to recycle. Next post will be something different again.

Carpathian Forest - Rehearsal '92

Carpathian Forest - Rehearsal 1992
1) Carpathian Forest
2) Call from the Grave (Bathory cover)
3) Bloodlust and Perversion
4) In the Circle of Ravens
5) Warhead (Venom cover)
6) Return of the Freezing Winds

4shared / Yandex

Here's something of an oddity, I am posting this thing today as a sort of reply, a little late one as usual, to sister Borderline's entry here. She also discusses what this is in quite length which boils down to this: this is the full '92 Carpathian Forest rehearsal session from which the "Rehearsal Outtake", also featured on "Bloodlust and Perversion" compilation, was taken off. Or as full as they dubbed to people I guess. Anyways, I got a rip of this from brother Baldemar already years ago, titled as "Rehearsal 1993" which interestingly thenecromancer's tape sent to Borderline was marked as well. So apparently the recording travelled among tape traders slightly mistitled. And tracklisted, I recall I had to figure out the true titles some time after I had gotten this and I am quite sure I did research and comparison to the Outtake version. There's no cover for this, obviously, I just wanted to post a bit more than just the logo. A line of text added: "more than just the logo" woohoo.

Well, as usual I did a quick last minute comparison and yup, same recording but B&P versions differ a bit due fade-ins and -outs, the self-titled track missing completely the adorable durdling in the beginning present here. Sound on it is also more subdued and slightly muffled compared to the clean-and-loud rawness of this rip and thus brother B's dub as well. I wonder if the fades were present on the Outtake tape as I have not heard that as "true version" - the only rip I've picked up was just lifted off the CD.

Do we need to discuss the music too? Is there someone who does not know CF? No, not Celtic Frost even though old 'Forest is very Frost-influenced, just listen to Return of the Freezing Winds. If you are only familiar with the last Carpathian Forest albums I recommend taking a plunge into old end of the pool which is much less stale than the silly late efforts, Nattefrost/Nordavind all the way. No, i-it's not like I ship them, baka! It's simply an established fact that the best 'Forest is the one with both of them or in other words which still contains material by Nordavind, up to and including "Strange Old Brew"... maybe "Morbid Fascination..." too on a good day. And best "album" is the mini. Source: I said so. Anyways, I'm starting to write whatever pops into my mind without hesitation so it's high time to stop, you cannot really go wrong with this if you appreciate vintage Norwegian black metal or generally like your black metal raw'n'rough yet groovy. Essential classicks materpiece theatre series.

Blutkrieg - Resurgence of Atavism demo '00

Blutkrieg - Resurgence of Atavism demo '00
1) Resurgent Atavism
- a) Journey into Pagan Battlefields
- b) Battle of the Blutkrieg
- c) Eternal Victory / Journey Home
- d) Celebration Across the Planes of Midgard 
2) The Crossing of Bifrost to the Halls of Asgard
3) March of the Blutkrieg

Mediafire / RGhost

Here's some non-metal material again and a post I was supposed to do already long ago but it was left in a sorting-out limbo for some... let's say months. Years are made of months after all. Here's Blutkrieg who hail from the US of A and the 2000 demo which was sent to me by a certain contributor burned on a disc. Thanks, you know who you are! It seems like they re-released the demo material, re-titled and split differently unto tracks on a split with Acirema whom you might remember? I'm not sure if anything else was done to it, remastering or anything like that, probably not. The crappy cover image was taken from Discogs who also try to pass this as another project with Rubeus XIII while it's actually by a fellow called Vautrin.

I was debating with myself if I should adjust the tracklisting a bit but decided against meddling with it. The split has first track consist of three parts, followed by three titles more. The above tracklisting implies it has four parts but the fourth part is actually (as far as I can tell) in the beginning of the second track The Crossing of Bifrost... - it's highly similar to it, moreso than the preceeding fifteen minutes. There's a clear break which makes me think it could be two different tracks that just sound kinda similar. Maybe the artist thought same and did exactly what I'm contemplating above for the "second edition" of it?

I've mentioned Acirema and all sorts of other stuff but not really discussed what this sounds like! Well, not at all like A. This is dungeon synth, with um, Odalistic themes? It's not really apparent when you listen to the music though, there are some vocals on the first track but they're quite hard to make out as they get buried in the billowing clouds of synths. Despite having parts that have to do with battle, victory and such the first track is not very dynamic, it's as if we were distant from the battlefield so the din of warfare really does not reach us. I suppose the narrations would describe the events if one could make out what is said. Second track is different in mood and very active with bouncy percussion and general sense of motion. Last one, March of the Blutkrieg, brings again heavy associations to old 80's CRPGs to my mind, and it's not really much like a march so the re-title to Hall of Valhalla on the split feels very justified. Overall the sound is good enough, suitably lo-fi and archaic feeling, no samples or silly effects added. Note that a healthy dose of tape hiss is included. Not great art or neoclassic masterpiece but I find it enjoyable. Perhaps you should give it a go too?

Sombre Eve #4

Sombre Eve 'zine, issue 4 (1994)
Interviews:
The 3rd and the Mortal
Sigh
Naked Eve
Bethlehem
Abyssic Hate
Dawn of Winter
As Serenity Fades
Dogmeat
Chorus of Ruin
Divine Eve
Key of Alocer 'zine
Deinonychus
Articles/Biographies:
Beyond Dawn
Opera IX
Discomposure
Bathory - Still in the Woods (a tribute article by Shane)
+review section, more reviews and quotes scattered around

Mega

Tonight's 'zine hails from Australia  and it is the fourth and either final or at least the last of this particular incarnation of Sombre Eve, made by Shane Transvaal D. (Gospel of the Horns, original vocalist) and Tracey A.H. (some chick, moved to UK). Tracey was supposed to take over S.E. and keep doing it in England but I've no idea if this came to be and Shane was going to start another 'zine. I'm equally clueless to what came out of that.

These are my typically haphazard scans from a copy I bought used, solely based on seeing it was an old 'zine I had not read before. I've also downloaded a scan of the first issue, dating to '92 with the same editors and reading that one we discover they initially planned to do an all doom 'zine but branched out right from the start. This trend is evident still on the fourth issue, which features a couple of very familiar names as well as some surprises too (Dogmeat in particular). Layout is simple, old schoolish and much to my liking, clear to read and without fancy stuff. The only issue I really have is the way they tend to split words to two lines in places, like this:

Excerpt from Abyssic Hate interview

That's really an eyesore, but a minor issue looking at the big picture. The interviews are generally interesting, as they should it being their fourth issue already, and reviews are quite good too. Some of them being very enthusiastic shall we say. The quotes sprinkled around the 'zine are a nice personal touch and not an overused idea so points from that even if some of them are a bit cliché. Having reviews both gathered in a section of several pages and also spread around amongst the other text feels a bit disorganized but again it's not much of a sin. Actually it's kinda fun having them like this instead of boring alphabetical meticulous sorted-by-media version of "professional magazines" don't you agree?

Color Climax

Another peculiar thing is how they've the cover sort of upside down as you might notice from the main image. See above for a tilted shot and marvel at the wear and stain of the copy in my possession. That should be enough for now, recommended for browsing even if the bands did not tickle your fancy, it's a good read. Oh, and I'm curious about Shane's old band Aetiology mentioned in the first S.E. issue, wonder if they ever recorded anything? At least they performed live and apparently had been formed by members of Pyuria and Demoniac which most likely did not have releases out. Anyone know? Wehrwolf? Fenrirsson?

Daemon - Trial of Satan demo '91

Daemon - Trial of Satan rehearsal demo 1991
1) Intro: Merciless Night
2) Battle of Pain
3) Hysterical Moment
4) Trial of Satan

Sampo / Mediafire

Inspired by this recent, highly recommended entry of brother Emptiness Cycle at Black Metal Yesteryear I decided to get off my ass, change my planned post yet again and finally upload this rip of another, unfortunately not as good, Daemon I had made already aeons ago. So there, this is the Daemon of Brunei, started in the late 80's as Daredevil and their apparently second recording under this name. Metal Archives entry mentions a compilation of some sort was supposed to be released but looks like that hasn't happened. This is my rip from a dub I got from brother A.S. and I'll warn you right away, the sound is abysmal. No cover so we make do with the image above pilfered from the Archives.

So how dismal a sound could it be? Mucky, lopsided, too quiet (though I upped the volume a bit) and generally opaque rehearsal recording. Perhaps it wouldn't be actually bad with a bit of tampering by someone with suitable knowhow but that is not my role in this play. Or if just ripped from an original tape or first generation dub. If the compilation ever gets released I recommend picking that up, at least it cannot sound worse. Wait, of course it can if done poorly enough. Music is death/black metal in old fashioned vein but I would not really call it primitive. Main influence is cited to be old Deicide but I think this sounds a bit more... melodic? Not really, no... maybe a little heavy metal influenced then, I don't know, ask your local death metal specialists. I like how the tracklisting makes it look like a concept demo, they seem like they were chapters of a story don't you think? Despite the challenging sound I suppose seekers of the exotic artifacts will brave this crypt, others might want to think twice and head to a tavern to look for another side quest.

Nocturnal Evil - Seven Rituals of Hell demo '08

Nocturnal Evil - Seven Rituals of Hell demo #4 2008
1) Prelude (The Sinister Apparition)
2) Black Past
3) Child Sacrifice
4) Necronomicon Exmortes
5) Dark Ascention
6) Necrofetish
7) Entering the Occult Dimention

Yandex / Sampo

The people who know me might be aware of my fondness to complete cycles, patterns and such as much as I can. Which leads us to today's suspiciously modern release (2008! that was practically yesterday!), another demo by the Argentinian bestial Beherit-metal unit Nocturnal Evil. I posted the previous effort here, same source et al. Four years passed between this and the third demo, a surprisingly long time actually. A glance at the covers is already telling even the casual layman observer that not much seems to have changed in that time. Same primitive look, same sort of jaggedy scripting, disarmingly crude artwork. The demo is dedicated to master Conscicide who had followed the freezing moon in August the same year, so it is similarily quasi-topical as the last post where the old Dutch scene was mentioned.

Are we to expect Bestial Summoning-worship then this time? Naaah, not really though one might argue some shades could be seen if you squeeze your eyes tight and believe real hard, with all your heart! It's in similar elder Tireheb-praising way as the demo #3 but with better, or at least louder, sound. All songs are very compact again so the total of Seven Rituals barely crosses the ten minute mark. No cover songs this time, or if there are I've missed them. Oh and Prelude... is an intro, Necronomicon Exmortes sort of interlude (Evil Dead sample as expected) and Entering... the outro. I find myself enjoying the proceedings much better this time around, is it the improvement overall or the old different day, different mood - issue remains to be seen. Similar recommendations as on the entry for the previous demo but a bit more enthusiastically! Do your best, Nocturnal-kun! Everyone, let's support Nocturnal Evil~♥ ...ok not that much enthusiasm. I think I need some sleep.