Asmodian Coven

Skogen 'zine #2

2012-01-28T00:28:00.000-08:00

Skogen Magazine, issue 2 (December 1995)
Interviews:
Sorhin
Nåstrond
Gates of Ishtar
Malignant Eternal
Forgotten Woods
Nordlys
Damnation (swe)
Naglfar
Setherial
Vergelmer
Immortal
Mysticum
Strid
Thornium
Gehenna
Fleurety
The Ancients Rebirth
Ablaze My Sorrow
Demonic
In Aeternum
Amon Amarth
Ildjarn
Gorgoroth
Necromicon
Blasphemous
Articles:
Borknagar
Myrkskog
Veles
Evrakon
Athothep
Zephyrous
Enchanted
Hermh
Ever Dark
Moonblood
The Moaning
Astaroth (nor)
Lord Belial
Mastema
Ragnarok
Malice
Mortify / Ildkrig
Covenant / Troll
Skuggmörker / Ondska
+reviews

Depositfiles

Here is finally the second issue of the Skogen 'zine, again courtesy of Argus Monitor who also scanned issue #3 - very much appreciated! I intended to upload this sooner but the Megaupload debacle kind of messed things around here at Coven. But that's enough about that. The 'zine is pretty much of similar quality to issue 3 though I personally prefer this one, probably partially because I had not read it before and also since I find the bands here more interesting as well. This one has less Norwegians and more Swedes, with a few others thrown in. Very much recommended!

Old Morgul - The Keys of New Realm demo 1998

2012-01-24T06:35:00.000-08:00

Old Morgul - The Keys of New Realm demo 1998
1) My Creations in the Past
2) Beyond the Mountains
3) Into the Unknown

Mediafire / Deposit

Request here and more material from brother Grev's bottomless vault, thank you sir! Old Morgul was a Finnish black metal band obviously influenced by the Norwegian 2nd wave bands and they released two demo tapes. This would be the first one, apparently quite hard to find. Grev had traded his copy back in the times when computers filled a whole room and trains ran on coal. Which means no proper cover, just a small (but reasonable) image from Metal Archives.

Ok, so it's influenced by the Norwegian style but is it any good? Yes. Not original or avant garde or whatever else but it works. The clean and quite powerful sound helps and they haven't added annoying extra elements in pursuit of originality, rather sticking to the basics and employing just a (better than average) screamy main vocal. A good, if easy-listening, black metal demo.

Malign - Live in Uppsala 08.11.1999

2012-01-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Malign - Live at Grand, Uppsala Sweden 8th November 1999
1) Fireborn
2) Blod skall flöda
3) Entering Timeless Halls

Depositfiles / Mediafire

A short live tape here and some Swedish cult black metal by Malign who unfortunately seem to be on hold currently. This live recording features both tracks from 1998's "Fireborn" EP and one from the demo and is probably incomplete. If a full recording exists, let me know and preferably share it as well.

The recording itself starts with Fireborn, right from the beginning I think and sounds to me like an audience recording but has a good sound quality. All instruments are audible and sound good to my extremely demanding tastes. Material is obviously good but you'd do well to remember I'm quite the fanboy. Very much recommended and if you have more Malign live recordings for me I'll reward you with gold, spices and slaves.

Lycanthropy - Amduscias demo 1995

2012-01-24T03:32:00.000-08:00

Lycanthropy (us) - Amduscias demo II 1995
1) Winds of the Ancient Deep
2) Princes in Black Palaces
3) Twilight Forest (The Winter Souls)
4) Weeping

Mediafire / Depositfiles

I was going to post this (and other stuff) sooner but the recent demise of Megaupload has complicated things a lot as not that long ago my external HD where I had all the stuff already uploaded broke and I had not yet had the time to download everything I lost again, meaning quite a few things are gone. So, I'd appreciate it if those who downloaded the things I had only on Megaupload could pack 'em and upload to Mediafire or something and send me a link - thanks in advance!

Back to the actual point of this post, this here is the second demo of USBM unit Lycanthropy, sent to me by Seth aka Baalberith, who also scanned the covers and provided me with helpful information. Thank you good sir, much appreciated! There were three covers made for this demo and two different recording sessions. The two covers associated with this second recording session here are enclosed in the .rar - the band was not very happy with the first recording and it ended up being sent to about ten people. Musically and pretty much soundwise as well this continues from where the first demo left off. It still sounds raw, in a good way and all the instruments are audible. This has a little downside as well as the drum machine sounds more obvious here, so if you're bothered by that consider yourself warned. Others dive right in.

Neverwood - Grown demo 1997

2012-01-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

Neverwood (fin - Lahti) - Grown demo 1997
1) Murder in the Kindergarten. Pt2
2) Headless
3) Grown
4) All Good Children

Mediafire

This is again a bit different post and something I wasn't expecting either as I asked Grev to dub me this demo. You see, I thought it might be another demo by this Neverwood but turned out this was a completely different band. Even though there is a slight similarity as this one plays some sort of electro-industrial metal which reminds me of The Kovenant and Diablerie to drop some names quick. So naturally I was a bit dissappointed. Grev sent scans of the covers as well, much appreciated brother!

Like I said above, this reminds me a bit of few later 90's bands working in this area, but as this was not really my shot of vodka even back them I'm not too familar with many projects of this kind. The main issue was that they were too light and this demo isn't very heavy and neither is it very dark. However, if you approach it more from an electronic/industrial music angle than metal it works much better. I personally prefer the less metallic but gloomier atmospheres of the last track. Check it out, you know you're curious now!

666 'zine #1

2012-01-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

666 'zine, issue 1 (1999)
Interviews:
Sadorass/The True Frost
Heretic
Carnage (us)
Maniac Butcher
Abattoir of Love
Adorior
Hyperion
HateSpawn 'zine
Drakkar Productions
Winter Funeral
Funeral Procession
Nachtkaiser
Grand Belial's Key [in French!]
Botulistum
Altar of Perversion
Frostdemonstorm
Evil
Celestia
Helwetti
Conqueror
Arkham
Prophecy (fra)
Noctis (fra)
Forge (fra) [in French!]
Puritas Virginum
Katharsis
Summum Malum
Nåstrond
+articles (some again in French), bios and flyers.

Mediafire

Another contribution, this one was sent by comrade Kurgan and originally scanned by Vlad/Arma Satanica - thank you! 666 was a French black metal fanzine made by Sad and Spica who used to be members of S.V.E.S.T. and Cantus Bestiae together and individually were/are involved with a number of bands like Asmodee, Chemin de Haine and Drastus. A couple of features are taken from elsewhere but most is made by the two.

The foreword sets up a lofty goal for our authors, unfortunately they are only partially successful as this issue (like most first ones do) has a number of flaws and many of the interviews end up more shallow than the editors hoped for. This is natural and happens with every 'zine. However, some of the interviews are very informative, entertaining or both. I'd mention as highlights the interviews with Nachtkaiser, Altar of Perversion, Katharsis and Nåstrond. As for the flaws, they go a bit overboard experimenting with different fonts which combined with the uneven copy quality makes some parts barely readable. Next and much more annoying is having a few interviews/articles written in French. I'm strongly against mixing languages in one 'zine, it should be English OR your language (whatever it might be) not a combination of both. But enough of my rantings, you'll want to read this if you're into underground black metal.

Death - Rehearsal 1987

2012-01-12T01:39:00.001-08:00

Death - Rehearsal 1987
1) Left to Die
2) Open Casket
3) Pull the Plug
4) Choke on It
5) Born Dead
6) Forgotten Past

Megaupload / Mediafire

Today I'm taking a page out of Yappy's book and post some really old school stuff, namely this rehearsal tape by legendary Death. I was never a fan of Schuldiner's later material but the demos and first albums were great. I got this tape from one of my traders back whenever and I don't think it had covers.

Like the tracklisting tells you, this rehearsal has most of the second album "Leprosy" missing only the title track and "Primitive Ways". I'm not sure if this is same as the release "Leprosy Demos" listed on the archives, however that one is missing the sixth track. The recording sounds obviously like an old rehearsal tape, the sound was quite low (I upped it a bit) and there's a fair amount of hissing, wear and other imperfections. It's still ok sounding and definitely not among the worst sounding of the old Death tapes I've heard. Oddly I don't remember seeing this on the various Death bootlegs I've seen. Recommended whether you're a fan of the band or the music style.

Condemned - Promo 1994

2012-01-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

Condemned (grc) - Promo 1994
1) As My Last Dream Fades Away...
2) Weeping Trees

Megaupload / Mediafire

And here is the second tape by the Greek death/doom band Condemned (see below post for 1st demo). As this was also a traded item, I had no cover for the release but I found a pretty nice image from the internet so that one is used. I think it was posted on Raf's blog.

This promo tape has only two tracks but runs the same lenght as the previous one as both are 7+ minutes and now clearly the emphasis is on doom, putting the death metal element on the backseat. Quite notably the vocalist uses now also spoken and sung clean parts in addition to his deep growls. The sound is a bit more balanced this time yet at the same time less clear which fortunately suits the softer and doomier approach the band took here. I'm not sure if I really prefer this more atmospheric approach or the rougher, more aggressive debut. I recommend you to have a listen for yourselves to decide, it's pretty good stuff anyways. I would like to hear their 1995 promo too, so leave me a note if you have it or know a link!

Condemned - Nothingness demo 1993

2012-01-09T22:28:00.001-08:00

Condemned (grc) - Nothingness demo 1993
1) Epagelma (Intro)
2) Foredoomed
3) Nothingness

Mediafire / Megaupload

I thought I'd post some death/doom for change and here is the first of the two tapes from the Greek Condemned, I had gotten this and the 1994 promo from a tape trader around 1996 I think and ripped both of them some time ago. I know there are other rips around, of both none the less, yet I decided to upload mine. I didn't have a cover for this (nor the 1994 tape) so I've used images from Metal Archives and someone else's rip for them. This one is from M.A. and a bigger one would be nice.

An instrumental short intro and two quite long (well, not that long for their genre) tracks of death/doom metal with a definite Greek vibe to it, this brings to mind such names from their countrymates as Septic Flesh, Nightfall and Obsecration, to drop just a few names. The first "proper" track "Foredoomed" is surprisingly aggressive, actually leaning a bit more on death than doom side of the equation. The third track which also is the longer one is more doomy, slower and has nice keyboards supporting the music. Sound quality is good for a demo of its era, I've heard 7"EP's with worse production and instruments come out balanced enough. The aggressive, growling vocal is quite prominent but this is not an issue. Nice stuff if not the most original recording around, recommended if you enjoy death/doom metal.

Skogen 'zine #3

2012-01-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Skogen Magazine, issue 3 (October 1996)
Interviews:
Borknagar
Samain
Ragnarok (nor)
Nattefall
Naglfar (nor)
Penitent
Dawn (swe)
Forgarður Helvítis
Sororicide
Sólstafir
Bal Sagoth
Satariel
Thy Primordial
Wallachia
Dismal Euphony
Thy Grief
Primordial
Behemoth
Graveland
Aeternus
Taake
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Nagelfar
Nifelheim
Mastema
Deinonychus
Dim Nagel
Enchanted
Articles:
Vornat
Blazing Eternity
Trolltjern
Mithotyn
Vargariket/Osiris Produksjoner
Svartsyn
Karnaya
Desaster
Carnun
Odium
Wayland
+Icelandic scene report, Dean Adams & his essays, poems & lyrics, reviews

Mediafire

Here is, courtesy of Argus Monitor, the third and final issue of Skogen magazine from Switzerland - even though you might think it was from Norway when you look at the bands featured! Thank you Argus for scanning this, writing a foreword and sending me it. He did a good job, it is very readable even with the background graphics Sascha decided to use which make some pages pretty challenging. I guess I won't go on greater lenghts here, but I recommend you download this, read Argus' foreword and the 'zine itself!

Alphysor - Demo 1994

2012-01-06T23:45:00.000-08:00

Alphysor - Demo I 1994
1) Lord of Blackened Sky
2) Alone in the Dark Forest
3) Ancient Lands of Frost
4) Cold Northern Wind
5) Outro - Voice of Melancholy

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's a request and another item I've been sent by brother Grev, thank you once again! This was the only release of Finnish black metal band/project/something Alphysor (of which I think I have some info somewhere but now I don't have time to dig it up! sorry later!) and as Grev's copy was also a traded one we had no covers and again a Metal Archives image is used. Until someone conjures a better image/scan.

The dub is of quite good quality and came out as well as it could, but the sound of the demo itself is bluntly put crude. Which is fitting, considering the primitive content. Short and simple tracks in the Nordic black metal style with a terrible drummachine, amateurish musicianship, two kinds of voices - one Donald Duckesque screech/squeack the other sort of roar/grunt reminding me of the Impaled Nazarene debut. I can't call this a masterpiece even after a heavy dose of alcohol but somehow it sounds a bit better than it should. I'm in a hurry so I can't write more, I'll probably come back later and rewrite the damn thing but until then, download if you dare!

Lycanthropy - Sanctity of the Black demo 1995

2012-01-06T05:06:00.001-08:00

Lycanthropy (us) - Sanctity of the Black demo I 1995
1) Intro / Over the Dark Horizon
2) Soulfrost
3) Shadows Among the Stars
4) Call from the Grave (Bathory cover)

Mediafire / Megaupload

!!! Baalberith's rip: Megaupload / Mediafire

USBM again and one of the releases I had standing on my desktop for a little while as I did not have a tracklisting to it, nor any other information than band name and demo 1995. Obviously I recognized the last track and after a little research I determined this to be their first demo. Don't know why, but the Metal Archives entry omits the Bathory cover from the tracklisting there. Well, we've already discussed the trustiness of that site before so let's not go there again. The cover image was borrowed from there too, I'd like a proper scan if you have it.

My traded copy has some extra hiss and slight tape wear here and there, the demo itself has a raw underground production (=practically non-existent) yet it sounds all good and listenable. The imperfections are few and far between and the sound really suits the raw yet still atmospheric music. They are obviously influenced by the Scandinavian hordes and hardly original, but who cares as long as it works? Their own three songs are very compact (2nd one less than minute long) and the cover track fits in well. I find this a pleasing listen, check it out for yourself if USBM doesn't give you a rash.

UPDATE: I was contacted by Seth aka Baalberith of Lycanthropy and he has provided me with his own rips of the three demos, with cover scans in most cases and so I have added links to his rip of the master tape and cover scan up there. Thanks, much appreciated!

Root - Live at Festival Death & Fire Explosion 1990

2012-01-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

Root (cze) - Live at Festival Death and Fire Explosion, Czech Republic 1990
1) Píseň pro Satana
2) Aralyon
3) 666
4) Zjevení
5) Dogrova říše
6) Démon
7) Drum Solo / Hřbitov
8) 7 černých jezdců

Megaupload / Mediafire

Right, now that I've corrected some other posts it's about time I post some live cult shit for change and what better than one of my long time favourite bands Root from Czech Rep, introduced to me by Sami of Thy Serpent, a thing I'm eternally grateful for! This is an old live recording from 1990 and I think it was perhaps released as a video too? I'm not certain, anyways this is what I got from one of my tape trader comrades in the 90's, the original dub had no titles but I did my best to figure out this half an hour set. If I was wrong, please let me know. Even if that is unlikely!

As you probably figured out by now, this is still the old school black metal era of Root, one of the strong ones keeping the black metal flame alive before the Norwegian explosion... yes kids, there was a strong if small scene of black metal alive pre-"Ablaze in the Northern Sky" and most bands sounded quite unlike the other and that's enough about that. This live recording has a great sound and obviously the music is excellent. If you are not yet familiar with old Root material, listen to it ASAP and then get this one in order to really appreciate it. The sound is very, very good if a little lacking in heaviness but of course the feeling is there. Mandatory to fans of the old European scene and other cultists. The band is still alive and going strong, if in a bit different way so keep supporting them and go see them live as long as you have a chance!

Indulgence - Enigmatic Thoughts demo 1995

2012-01-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Indulgence (nz) - Enigmatic Thoughts rehearsal/demo 1995
1) Question
2) Pleasure
3) Threnody

Megaupload / Mediafire

New year and here is the second salvo from the NZ heavy artillery courtesy of brother Fenrirsson who provided this rip & scan too, thank you! If the previous round with Convulsion was vile, this one is more of gloom and doom school, even if the rather upbeat first track/intro might lead you to think otherwise. Speaking of Convulsion, I should probably mention this is Karl the vocalist/guitarist solo here so you might now know what to expect.

Recorded on a four tracker at the rehearsal room this obviously isn't pro or polished-sounding, but the quality is proper enough for a demo recording. If you don't count the less-than-minute long opener, the music is slow and heavy with a suffocating aura of darkness hovering over the listener rather than the dreary melancholic dirge some death/doom bands aim for. In other words, more old Unholy than Turn Loose-era My Dying Bride. I was going to write something more but seems like my thoughts wander so I quit here. Recommended if you enjoy dark old death/doom in the dISEMBOWELMENT-vein!

Convulsion - A Pickled Feast demo 1993

2011-12-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

Convulsion (nz) - A Pickled Feast demo 1993
1) Lobotomized Whores
2) Bits of Dog
3) Pickled in Pus

Megaupload / Mediafire

Another contribution by Fenrirsson, this is a demo from the NZ goregrind/death metal band Convulsion. Ripped from his original copy, the sound is obviously of the underground demo sort but quite good and fitting, slightly murky and heavy. Cover scan enclosed.

Even if this is goregrind/death metal, don't expect all-out blasting, there is a good share of slow, heavy, ponderous mauling on display here. Especially the first track is more like Visecral Evisceration than Dead Infection. Pace picks up on the second track but it's still more midtempo than anything which was a pleasant surprise for me on the first listen. There's some dual vocals thrown in for good effect as well and I'm actually reminded of Germany's Mangled Torsos on their debut "Drawings of the Dead" even though it's a later release. Last track continues pretty much where second left off, with a slightly briskier pace. I like this. Recommended for people into heavy and cavernous, murky death metal with a vile atmosphere.

UPDATE: Well, to prove even us ghoulish figures at AC are human it appears the original upload was not correct and tracks 2 & 3 were switched around. Oops. No excuses, just download it again, it's corrected now.

Octinomos - Demo 2 1995

2011-12-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

Octinomos - Demo 2 1995
1) Still Those Stars Shine
2) From the Sky
3) Iniuria
4) The Demiurge

Mediafire / Megaupload

I know this post is sort of waste of time, but I decided to upload my rip of Octinomos' demo 2 (I'd like to see demo 1 very much but I guess it was never released) here. Pretty much everyone and their mother has already done this but since I bought this tape last year from Stratia and I am a fanboy I wanted to rip it for myself. So here it is, recommended like the rest of Söderlund's material I've posted so far.

Lamentation - Promo Track 96/97

2011-12-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

Lamentation (gre) - Promo Track 1996/1997
1) Whispers from Carmilla's Tomb

Megaupload / Mediafire

Non-metal post and a quickie, here's a single promo track from Greece's Lamentation which was later renamed Nachtkaiser and featured Der Stürmer personnel. This track was also released later under Nachtkaiser monicker on a compilation tape, which I haven't heard so I don't know if it's the same recording or different somehow. Anyways, this one I got from my trader around 1997 I think.

There's some hissing on the background but otherwise the dub is of good quality, in a way this is more like "Fullmoon..." and "Eine Symphonie..." than "As ShadowKingdom..." as it is fully instrumental, without the vocals which I personally found more a flaw than a strenght on the third demo. It's synths and piano again, but that's really all you need sometimes. The atmospheres remind me of ancient Ultima IV and weltering in nostalgia is something I enjoy. I think this might be my favourite Lamentation recording (can't comment on the Nachtkaiser material as I haven't heard any!). Let us hope the CD compilation of Lamentation/Nachtkaiser material becomes reality soon. Until then enjoy this track and don't forget the second demo either.

Lacerated Gods - Night of Pain: The Satanic Bloodspraying live 1993

2011-12-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

Lacerated Gods - Night of Pain: The Satanic Bloodspraying official livetape 1993
1) Crime (The Glorious Way To Dark Satan)
2) Desecrate The Female Plague
3) Subhuman Christianity
4) Rigor Mortis (Recreate Auschwitz)
5) Into Thy Forest Of Retaliation
6) Your Punishment Is To Be Raped

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's a very elusive item, the official live tape, also called demo 1993, by Germany's infamous Lacerated Gods. Ripped by brother Fenrirsson from a cassette sent him by Count Leichenschrei, it came with only a note with tracklisting and line-up which he also scanned. There's also a second version which includes an additional studio track and probably has a cover too.

I wouldn't really call Lacerated Gods black metal, the music is more like death/thrash with anti-christian themes. And some good old misogynism and nazi references thrown in. The sound of the recording is a bit primitive but very audible. The vocals are quite high on the mix and occasionally the sound kind of fades to lower volume but these are not really issues. Should be an interesting listen for many. I'm curious to hear the old Opferblut material too so get in touch if you got it!

Nephilim - Black Earth CassEP 1996

2011-12-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

Nephilim (usa) - Black Earth Cassette EP 1996
1) Upheaval
2) The Timeless Void
3) Tehom

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's another cassette EP, this one metal and USBM, related to this old post as the project shares a member, Mikai Tepesh who does everything but the lead guitar on this tape. It appears there were two versions of this tape as well, the dub I had contains also the instrumental/outro track "Tehom" while the version I got from eBay omits it and they've blacked over the title on the cover (as you'll see from the enclosed scan). I don't know what's the deal with it, was Tepesh unhappy with the track later or what? Anyways, the rip here is a combo of both tapes, the metal tracks are from the original and "Tehom" from my old dub so the quality differs a little. Speaking of quality, the sound is good if very underground but there's a little shift in the volume in the first track. Minor annoyance but it's there.

There's also another little issue with the tracklisting, being the fact that the two metal tracks blend quite seamlessly into each other and I had very hard time guessing where to cut 'em apart. So I sort of gave up and made an educated guess. I'm pretty sure it's wrong. Don't know if it really matters as most will probably listen to the whole tape all the way through, it's only a bit over 11 minutes after all. I should probably say something about the music too? Well, it's USBM of a grimy yet sort of atmospheric vein, borrowing from Nordic bands as well as having touches of Blasphemy and co. to it. Mostly it speeds ahead with a good momentum, though there's time to throw in some quite chaotic leads as well. Audible bass is a nice touch. The last song "Tehom" is dark ambient outro bit, not bad. I like this better than Tepesh's other band Enkil and would like to hear the 1994 demo too. Recommended for black metal enthusiasts and seekers of obscure recordings.

Elfen - To Eldamar from Minas Morgul CassEP 1999

2011-12-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

Elfen - To Eldamar from Minas Morgul Cassette EP 1999
Eldamar - The House of the Trolls
1) Mirkwood
2) Lothlórien
3) Minas Morgul
4) Isengard
5) Moria
6) Uruk-Hai
Minas Morgul demo 1997 (bonus)
7) Lothlórien
8) Moria
9) Isengard
10) Minas Morgul

Mediafire / Megaupload

Tolkien related material today, this tape EP/compilation was released by Elven Witchcraft back in 1999 and I was thinking I'd be getting Summoning-style metal as I ordered this tape. That's not the case even if there are some slightly metal-esque parts, this is more correctly black/ambient and/or dungeon synth. You know, lots of keyboards, some percussion here and there, vocals ranging from whispers to narration to almost black metal style rasping. Not to forget assorted sound effects. Some people apparently manage to see this as a nationalistic or Hellenistic project. Well, whatever you say, the lyrics are included and they are quite standard Tolkien fare. I'm not sure if their later texts could be different? Probably the connections of the project make people go for that assumption.

So how's it like then? Well it's really an uneven sort of affair, ranging from ridiculous to cool parts. I refuse to call it metal even if some tracks partially resemble it. I'd put it somewhere in between black/ambient and dungeon synth categories. The sound of the cassette EP portion is supposedly better than on the demo bit but what it gains in clarity it loses in atmosphere. Both are firmly in the plastic, cheap synth sound department which is not necessarily a bad thing. The demo versions of the tracks are longer, slightly more ponderous and clumsier yet somehow I seem to enjoy them more. I guess their poor-man's-Summoning feeling is enough to amuse me. But enough of my long-winded babbling, download it and listen for yourself.

Absu - Pagan Ritual bootleg 1995

2011-12-17T01:32:00.001-08:00

Absu (us) - Pagan Ritual bootleg 1995
1) Intro
2) Cyntefyn's Fountain
3) Apzu
4) Feis Mor Tir Na N'og (Across the Northern Sea to Visnech)
5) Never Blow Out the Eastern Candle

Mediafire / Megaupload

Another tape traded bootleg tape, this one though a bit more interesting as it is a 1995 (don't know the date and venue though!) live show from my old faves Absu. I think this is the complete performance, not very lenghty covering just a bit over half an hour. Unfortunately missing a cover as well, so if you have it a scan would be very welcome!

Like pretty much all the 1995 Absu live tapes I've managed to dig up, this has a great setlist which leaves me hungry for more. This one even more than some of the other ones as it has only four proper tracks along with a pretty long intro. Fortunately all songs are good even if I'm still longing for "The Sun of Tiphareth" and "A Quest into the 77th Novel" - probably they didn't play those back then. The recording has a quite good live sound, better than the average bootleg I dare say. Quality of the dub is rather good as well. Solid performance, with plenty of vocals from Proscriptor too this time. Very much recommended.

Mayhem - Book Made of Human Flesh bootleg 1996

2011-12-16T22:06:00.001-08:00

Mayhem (nor) - Book Made of Human Flesh bootleg tape 1996
1) The Freezing Moon
2) Chainsaw Gutsfuck
3) Deathcrush
4) Funeral Fog
5) Necrolust
6) Life Eternal
7) Pagan Fears
8) Buried by Time and Dust

Megaupload / Mediafire

Disclaimer: This post is pretty much waste of everyone's time. Now that it has been said, let's move to the item at hand, "Book Made of Human Flesh" is an obscure Mayhem bootleg I got from one of my traders back in 1996 or early 1997 and I have very little knowledge of it. I assume it was a tape released by someone and possibly had a cover of some sort, which my contact did not have. To my dissappointment back then, the material here is a compilation of Mayhem tracks from various sources ranging from the 1990 studio session (The Freezing Moon) to "Live in Leipzig" and so on. I can't readily identify the source for all the tracks but am sure they've all been released before. So why post it? Well, aside wanting to share the old dissappointment with you, I thought it'd be prudent to post it before someone pays ridiculous bucks for a copy on eBay without knowing what he gets. And I guess if you haven't heard Mayhem at all, this wouldn't be a bad compilation to start with, even though I can hardly imagine such a scenario. That's pretty much all I have to say about this.

Deicide - Live in Bradford 04.12.1990

2011-12-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

Deicide - Live at the Queen's Hall, Bradford UK 4th December 1990
1) Sacrificial Suicide
2) Lunatic of God's Creation
3) Dead by Dawn
4) Oblivious to Evil
5) Carnage in the Temple of the Damned
6) Blaspherereion
7) Mephistopheles
8) Day of Darkness
9) Crucifixation
10) Deicide

Mediafire

A live tape from a well-known name today and an item that is not one of my rips! This rip was made by Matt Witchclan for Balbulus' blog The Woodman's Axe. His rip of the gig was all as a single track, which was the only negative thing about it. I split it into separate tracks for my own use and after a while thought I'd share it here too. So, thanks to Matt (and B) for this and check out it his band Witchclan too, UKBM.

What we have here is a gig by young and hungry Deicide, certainly from my favourite era of them. I liked the first two albums and "Amon - Feasting the Beast" but then lost interest in them around "Once Upon a Cross" and haven't really gotten into any of the later albums. This live recording has a very good sound, of course an excellent tracklisting and extra amusement value as Benton is very pissed off by someone stealing his bass guitar and apparently some xtians appeared on the venue to diss the band. Great stuff, get it if you too enjoy old death metal and give it a try even if you're not much into Deicide as it sounds different.

Dark Prophecy - Promo Tape 1992

2011-12-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Dark Prophecy (por) - Promo Tape 1992
1) Intro (The Evocation)
2) False Church
3) Intro (The Possession)
4) The Judgement Day

Mediafire

An older item today and a traded items, but for change one I got a cover for. Portugal's Dark Prophecy is probably an unknown name for most, yet some might recognize Celtic Dance formed by some of the members after the split of this band. They seem to have been quite fond of intros as the first Celtic Dance demo also featured an intro and outro for each of its two "proper" tracks. But enough about that.

This tape was recorded at their rehearsal place (except for the intros which are taken from movies I can't identify, help appreciated if you can) which is quite obvious. The sound isn't really bad, just very... stripped down and neither very powerful or evil. Certainly old schoolish and crude, sloppy playing, errors and all. So if you enjoy southern style old school black metal with a primitive rehearsal sound check out this tape.

Tunrida - Rehearsal Tape 25.03.1997

2011-12-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

Tunrida - Rehearsal Tape 25th March 1997
1) My Finest Hour
2) The Second Coming
3) Praising My Immortality
4) "Astral Majesty" Chapter I. - Pathways to Cosmos Opened
5) "Astral Majesty" Chapter II. - The Calling
6) "Astral Majesty" Chapter III. - Astral Majesty Revealed

Mediafire

One more rehearsal tape and back to black metal. Tunrida should be a familiar name to the blog readers and this is a rehearsal tape from the vaults of brother Grev who got this directly from Seth back in the day. So the quality of the dub is good and the recording itself has a very good and clear sound for a rehearsal. No cover art.

The first three tracks here would be included on the debut album "Hierarchy" in slightly different versions (and 2 & 3 were retitled as "Your Second Coming" and "Preacher of Immortality" respectively) and the last three tracks are from the second demo "Astral Majesty" these versions of course differing a little from the demo recording, "Astral Majesty Revealed" is also instrumental here for unknown reason. I find myself enjoying these rehearsal versions of the first tracks more than the album. Not much to add, if you're familiar with Tunrida you know what to expect. If not, this isn't a bad place to start from. Very much recommended!

Son Noir - Bloodtears rehearsal 07.10.1996

2011-12-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Son Noir - "Bloodtears" rehearsal 7th October 1996
1) Bloodtears
2) Queen of the Darkest Pit

Mediafire / Megaupload

I didn't have the heart to break the current rehearsal streak, but I thought it's still time for a bit different release so here's something quite obscure again. This is a two song rehearsal tape, dubbed by one of my tape traders and it was one of those extremely random picks to be used as filler. I think there was at least one rehearsal tape more but probably no official demo. All the info I have is that it was a Canadian project and that's it. I don't know if this supposed to be an official release or not (being named and all) and if there was some sort of cover for this. At least I don't have it. More info would be welcome.

Musicwise we've basically a piano/keyboard and voice combo here, similar to Dutch Christs Nails and later Lamentation material. The longer title track is for me the better one here, using simple piano and a raw, anguished black metal voice. He sounds quite extreme at times and I wonder if he did vocals for any black metal band ever. The second piece is again moody piano but this time accompanied by a half-spoken, half-sung clean voice reciting the lyrics. This does not work as well as it doesn't sound very convincing. And when he goes to singing mode it's quite awful, as are the (fully) spoken parts. This is partially due his accent. Shrieks still work. However, this drops the overall rating for this recording. I suppose I should say something about the sound, which is quite good and clear. Well, it's just the keys and voice(s) so you don't need magick to make it work. I'm not 100% sure what to categorize this, I guess black ambient goes closest to home. I recommend the ambient and dungeon synth listeners to give this a try.

Blasphemous (swe) - Rehearsal 22.04.1995

2011-12-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Blasphemous (swe) - Rehearsal 22nd April 1995
1) Whispers from the Woods
2) Hacked Out of Ice
3) Hidden of Black Clouds

Mediafire / Megaupload

I decided to stick to the rehearsal tapes and here's more black metal sent me by brother Grev. Thanks & praises! You may remember Blasphemous from this earlier post and much of what was then written applies to this recording as well. I personally think this rehearsal sounds slightly superior to the promo tape as it's less murky (even if this has its flaws and age showing too) but as it is an old rehearsal tape it might sound like white noise to the casual listener. The music is here "more obviously" black metal than the old material, cold and harsh like northern wind in January. Tracks 1 and 3 are familiar from other releases, their 1995 demo and 1994 rehearsal/demo respectively and track 2 seems exclusive to this, unless renamed. Recommended and I'm interested hearing the reh/demo 1994, "The Obscurity Over Golgotha" demo 1995 and a better rip of "The Eternal Journey" demo would be also welcome.

Thus Defiled - Rehearsal 28.04.1994

2011-12-03T21:01:00.001-08:00

Thus Defiled - Rehearsal 28th April 1994
1) Darkness Rape the Tranquil Shore of Eternity
2) The Final Sunrise

Megaupload / Mediafire

Another rehearsal, this one was contributed by brother Grev, thank you! Thus Defiled is one of the UK's longest running 2nd wave black metal bands yet has always remained somewhat unknown, at least compared to certain landmates of theirs. Here are two rehearsal tracks, first of which appeared on their debut album "Through the Impure Veil of Dawn" and second... nowhere, unless they changed the name later (likely). I'm personally more familiar with the older Thus Defiled material, but not intimate so I don't recognize it as something else. No cover for this one, I used the 2nd demo era logo here.

The recording has a pretty good rehearsal sound, though I have to say the (growling) vocals bleed unto everything quite a bit. Or actually they sort of sink into everything else and kind of mingle... well listen for yourselves, I found my ear adjusting to this rather quickly. Other than that I'd say it sounds better than many rehearsal demos. And better than several demos too. The first track is melodic and quite melancholic, while the second one starts a bit more bombastic and turns fast and ferocious, brutal even. Now I feel like listening to more Thus Defiled and writing less so end here. Recommended for both black and death metal listeners.

Emperor - Rehearsal 19.10.1992

2011-12-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

Emperor - Rehearsal 19th October 1992
1) Intro
2) My Empire's Doom
3) Witches Sabbath
4) Forgotten Centuries
5) Ancient Queen
6) Moon Over Kara-Shehr
7) Lord of the Storms
8) Night of the Graveless Souls

Mediafire

To start off another December I decided to go with something that might be readily available but it's something I very much like myself. I suppose all of the readers are aware of Emperor. If not, I'm amazed and not sure if you have the right website in the first place. Anyways, this is an old rehearsal from Emperor and the era I like best myself. Raw and evil-sounding Norwegian black metal played by an enthusiastic and hungry young band, without pretensions of high art, just total darkness. Ripped from a traded copy, this never had any sort of cover in the first place I believe, the one seen above is just a placeholder I whipped up.

I can't recall the exact source for the date, I think it was online on a site that had some old items for trade, I just matched what info I had from my trader source with theirs. Still I'm sure this is now correct. As it is a rehearsal tape you should know what to expect if you've heard other old Emperor rehearsals or the demo. Raw as hell, not at all sophisticated like the latter work and delightful. As I see it, this is black metal in it's purest form. Very much recommended.

Algaion - Promo Track 1995

2011-11-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

Algaion - Promo Track 1995
1) The Sign of Evil Existence (Rotting Christ cover)

Mediafire / Megaupload

A real quick one here, literally, as this Rotting Christ classic covered by one of my favourite bands Algaion lasts less than two minutes. Dubbed by a trader with little info given, I don't know if this was actually ever used anywhere. I got it as "promo track" and am pretty sure it was just recorded at some other session and then dubbed to some people. Sound is a little muddy but okay demo sound and the track is obviously a classic and they do ok job covering it. Recommended if you enjoy either of the bands but if you're more of a hifi-person you might want to try their new album "ΕΧΘΡΟΣ" which features a medley of this and Thou Art Lord's "The Era of Satan Rising" and is a great album overall. /advertisement

Daimon - Presence of the Past demo 1995

2011-11-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

Daimon (aut) - Presence of the Past demo 1995
1) Ouverture
2) Dominion of the Strong
3) Life Is Fight
4) Templar Secrets
5) Eternal Flame
6) Far Away
7) The Evil Inside
8) Presence of the Past

Megaupload / Mediafire

Time to get this blog back on the course. We're getting closer to the usual fare with this quite unusual demo one of my traders once dubbed me. According to Metal Archives, this is the only release of this Austrian project and as it is a piece of trading loot I have no cover for it, the quite bad image from the M.A. page is used. Like always, I'd be interested in proper scans. I'd also be interested in hearing from someone who could confirm my division of the tracks as I had a little difficulty with it. I've probably screwed it somewhere around the middle.

The music on this demo is practically one part neo-medieval dungeon synth-ish material, two parts black metal which brings to my mind several of the project's countrymen like early Golden Dawn, old Abigor, old Summoning and the A.B.M.S. - bands. The sound is crispy sort of clear, very obviously demo level but fitting in a crude manner like an axe blade to the side of your skull. The guitar sound is sharp and clear, vocals (when used) harsh and shrieky, synths endearingly cheap sounding and percussion rigidly mechanical. Surprisingly bass can also be heard, nothing muffled about this one. Some clean vocals (quite ok) are also used. Songwriting on the black metal parts varies from driving, simple gallop to unexpected wanderings unto shadowy offroads. I remember I didn't listen to this much on cassette but now I'm a bit fascinated by it. An interesting demo, recommendable.

Perkele - Erotic Circus (1996)

2011-11-28T23:31:00.001-08:00

Perkele (fin) - Erotic Circus
1) Dancing in the Night
2) Where's My Lady
3) Lightning Strikes
4) Summer
5) Red, Liquid Flower
6) Warhorse
7) You're My Wish
8) Summernight (Digital Passion Mix)
9) In Parties

Megaupload / Mediafire

More unusuality: an album. Well, this has been long out of press so it was a request I thought I'd go ahead and fulfill. Also, I'd hate to see you cough up ridiculous sums for a used copy without hearing it first. Perkele, here a two-piece, was another project band featuring Ari "Sinister Satyr" Honkonen of Morningstar but if you've read this blog for any longer time I shouldn't need to introduce him. The earlier material was Isengard/Storm influenced pagan metal but the project started to get gothier around "Midsummer Murders" promo 1995 and went all in with this, their sole album released by Nederlands' Hammerheart in late 1996 (or early 1997). I've ripped my copy and made a halfassed scan of the outer sides of the digipak.

You might've noticed a certain lack of enthusiasm on the previous paragraph. That is because I don't like this, plain and simple. It's probably the worst release Arska has put out. His wavering clean vocals worked on the "drunken viking" approach of the old tapes and on the more sinister sounding promo tape but here it's just not happening. Granted, I'm not much of a fan of gothic rock and vocals of for example Two Witches make me cringe but I'm not very keen on the music either. If you're a connoisseur of gothic rock you might manage to enjoy this. I advice the rest to approach with caution.

Neverwood - Angel demo 1997

2011-11-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

Neverwood - Angel demo 1997
1) Angel
2) Decay
3) Glass
4) Servile

Mediafire / Megaupload

If the previous post was obscure then I suppose this one is just unusual, though I haven't seen this online either. As someone might've guessed already, another non-metal item and this time not ambient or dungeon synth either. If you remember the Plastic Sampler compilation I posted then you might also recall Neverwood who are/were (not sure if active or dead) an electronic music project. Not to be confused with another, more metal, Finnish project. This might or might not be their first demo, no idea since I don't have covers and haven't managed to find much info from the inter nets.

I'm no good at all with the subgenres in this direction so I'm not going to go guessing too much, let's just say that they perform quite an ethereal sort of electronic music with a female vocalist. I've been told their debut album would be trip-hop or something and I suppose that might apply here too. Whatever it should be called, I like listening to it every now and then. Sound is good and the dub also is of satisfying quality so take a listen if you're into this sort of music.

Iskalde Vinder - Sorgens Tid demo 1995

2011-11-23T23:59:00.001-08:00

Iskalde Vinder - Sorgens Tid demo 1995
1) Tåke
2) Bortgang
3) Sorg

Mediafire / Megaupload

Something obscure from my tape traded items again, this is a demo, possibly only one, of the Norwegians Iskalde Vinder. I couldn't find any information, pictures or the like on the internet, nor do I remember seeing a flyer, review or interview anywhere. Yet they once existed and made this almost 23 minutes of atmospheric Norwegian black metal. Three quite long songs, the middle one being quite non-metal actually, I'm reminded occasionally of the fellow Norwegians Forgotten Woods, Strid and someone else whom I forgot and will edit later into this text. Yeah. Mostly the music is kind of mellow, yet gloomy and moves at a slow midtempo. The sound is pretty typical demo fare and dub quality is okayish, obviously it's not first generation but the minor wear and flaws do not bother at least me that much. The music is very interesting and recommended to pretty much all readers. Any further information, images and cover scans are welcome!

Brainstorm #4

2011-11-22T21:04:00.001-08:00

Brainstorm 'zine, issue 4 (September 1995)
Interviews:
In the Woods...
Celestial Season
Mayhem (Hellhammer)
Emperor
Opera IX
Misanthropy Records
Meressin
Orphanage
+ reviews, news & gig reports

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's a 'zine post for change. In a temporary fit of insanity I scanned this fourth issue of the Lithuanian Brainstorm 'zine. I haven't seen any of his previous issues nor do I know if he made any after this one as I bought this from one of the various small distros once upon a time in the later 90's. I believe my reason for purchase was the Mayhem interview. Anyways, this is a neat 'zine with pretty interesting artists featured, a tidy layout and decent enough English. The author's music taste seems to be more melodic-oriented than yours truly's (spoiler: the album of the issue is Sentenced's "Amok") and I find myself disagreeing with his reviews from time to time but it's not a big deal. Recommended especially if you're fond of the bands mentioned above or a curious explorer of the past.

Unhola - Beetlehemin Saasta... Rehearsal 1995

2011-11-16T05:21:00.000-08:00

Unhola - Beetlehemin Saasta... Rehearsal Tape 1995
1) Mustan Syvyyden Tuulet
2) We Bring Thy Garden
3) Beetlehemin Saasta

Megaupload / Mediafire

Today's second post is again a contribution, this one from brother Grev, thanks! If you've paid any attention to the side of the page you might've noticed I've been on the look for the first Unhola demo since the beginning of written history and it has steadily evaded me. And still it does, for this recording I got from brother Grev is a rehearsal tape recorded before the demo itself (as far as I know). Note that both of the tracks from the demo appear here as well, "We Bring Thy Garden" is "Täältä Tullaan Kuolema" with different, English lyrics. Musically it appears to be mostly similar. No covers for this one.

Ok, so this is a rehearsal tape and you know what to expect, right? There are some minor flaws and errors and the sound quality is uneven, that can't be helped. Overall it has a good rehearsal sound though and everything is quite audible. They have some problems getting the last track started, that's why the lenght (22:13 of which 10:09 is the last one). I like older Unhola and rehearsal tapes very much so naturally I'm all into this but the casual listener might be left unimpressed. Anyways, I recommend you at least try this out if you like older Finnish black metal.

Lux Axiomus - Oblivion demo 1992

2011-11-16T04:03:00.001-08:00

Lux Axiomus - Oblivion demo 1992
1) The Plague
2) Oblivion
3) Unholy Chanting
4) In Nomine Spiritus

Megaupload / Mediafire

Another contribution from brother SuuretMuinaiset who ripped me his dub of this old & obscure Norwegian demo. Thank you! Since we didn't have the covers another Metal Archives image is used and as always, a proper scan would be appreciated!

To the music, this is thirteen minutes of rough sounding (rehearsal sound quality) early 2nd wave black metal. It's no Kvist, Strid or early Emperor but quite enjoyable material still. Some death metal influences pop up from the witches brew but the overall sound is that of early Norwegian bm scene. I'm pretty sure this has been recorded at their rehearsal room but fear not the sound is still clear and listenable. The last track ends oddly, it sounds like they finish the track once but then it countinues, only to abruptly end soon. Problem with the dub/rip/original recording? I don't know, but tell me if you do. Nice curio worth listening to, especially if you're interested in the old Norwegian scene.

Master's Hammer - Rehearsal 1993

2011-11-13T20:59:00.001-08:00

Master's Hammer - Rehearsal 1993 (actually 1992)
1) Instrumental Jam
2) Já nechci mnoho trápiti...
3) Kol prostírá se temný les...
4) Ten dvanácterák zmizel v houští...
5) Mezi kopci cesta je klikatá... (1st version)
6) Mezi kopci cesta je klikatá... (2nd version)
7) Mezi kopci cesta je klikatá... (3rd version)
8) Že vše je podle mého přání... (1st version)
9) Že vše je podle mého přání... (2nd version)

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's one of my own rips for change and one of my favourite bands, the Czech cult band Master's Hammer which I hope is familiar to most of my readers. If not, go and listen to their first two albums immediately. Then the demos & new album. Ok, this thing here is a rehearsal tape I got from one of my traders, titled rehearsal 1993 and without a tracklisting. However as you noticed already I figured them out and I believe this to be rehearsal session(s?) for the 2nd album, in which case it'd be 1992 really. Not sure though so I kept it labeled as I got it. I know there is a rehearsal tape called "Hash-Influenced" dated for 1992 which I for some bizarre reason never had dubbed which might or might not be this same recording. If you have that tape get in touch with me right now.

As you've probably figured out, I'm a big MH-fan so anything I write will not be neutral. I'd be likely to listen to an hour of Franta practising a single riff. Keeping that in mind, I'll start by saying this has mostly an excellent rehearsal sound, demo quality easily. The first track might be a bit off a turn off for many as it really is, like it titled it, an instrumental jam. At least I could not identify it as any of the actual songs. The rest of the material are "proper" tracks but tend to sound quite different from the album versions, obviously. Vocals and most of the instruments are present. There are several takes of two of the tracks and all sound quite different. Might not be to everyone's taste, even fellow Master's Hammer fanboys', yet I still recommend it as it is an interesting listen even if things occasionally get a bit out of hand and some elements are missing/different.

Funerary Call - A Comselh De Ors demo 1994

2011-11-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Funerary Call - A Comselh De Ors demo 1994
1) Da I Crip Ors
2) Battle for Conquest
3) With Fire and Blood
4) Fallen Monuments
5) Divine Sodomy
6) A Last Breath Before the Final Sleep

Mediafire / Megaupload

One more for the road and another contribution, this one by brother Fenrirsson, thanks for the rip and scans! Non-metal material from Canada, this is funereal dark ritual ambient. It has some shades of dungeon synth too but I don't think I'd label this as that genre. Well, I'm not sure actually so I guess I'll wait Andrew's call on it.

Fenrirsson has ripped an original tape and edited the sound so it is clear and listenable, yet still sounds like something echoing from lightless subterranean catacombs. Murky and evil synth music with black metal voices and quite short tracks. I haven't heard the latest FC recordings so no comparisons to them. Listeners of dark ambient, ritual music and dungeon synth should check this out.

Howll - In to My Kingdom demo 1996

2011-11-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

Howll - In to My Kingdom rehearsal/demo I 1996
1) Written in Stormclouds
2) At Dawn Came the Silence
3) In to My Kingdom

Megaupload / Mediafire

Slow posting lately. Well, here's another rarity from brother Grev to make up for it. Finnish stuff again and probably the only release of Howll, a project by Nattasett aka Julma from Darkwoods My Betrothed. I have practically no information about this apart from what Grev told me and he did not have a cover for this either. If one even was made. Unfortunately the quality of this rehearsal recording is far from great, due just about all the sound coming to the right channel. I could not up the volume much and ramming it out mono did not produce a much better result, thanks to the low general volume. If someone absolutely wants to try the mono rip leave me a note.

I should say something about the music too I suppose. Well, like brother Grev wrote, this is a mixture of synth stuff and black/doom metal. The pace is generally very slow and the tracks quite long, the title track being faster and more aggressive than the preceeding ones. Nattasett uses a clean, semi-spoken voice, the extremely high, hysterical vocal you might remember from DMB material and a more typical, raw and hoarse black metal scream. Some samples are sprinkeled among the music. This would be a very interesting and enjoyable demo if the sound was better. Now it's just very interesting and kind of enjoyable. Still, recommendable if you can overcome that.

Thorns Of Compassion - Dreamless demo 1997

2011-11-01T23:44:00.001-07:00

Thorns Of Compassion - Dreamless demo 1997
1) A Soul Full of Sorrow
2) Dreamless
3) Embraced by Darkness

Megaupload / Mediafire

More Norwegian gothy stuff follows, this an apparently obscure demo is as far as I know also the only release by Thorns Of Compassion who should probably be categorized somewhere between dark metal and gothic metal. They use several kinds of vocals, from mediocre clean singing to effect-laden spoken voice and a harsh snarl which probably works best in my opinion. Music is obviously melodic and has slight folky touches to it. Napalm Records probably didn't get this demo or had their roster full at the time, otherwise I'd expect them to have released the band's debut album. Century Media might've been another candidate. Well, it's not as bad as what I wrote makes it seem. If you dig mid/late 90's melodic bands like Old Man's Child, Dismal Euphony, Trail Of Tears etc... maybe even Obtained Enslavement or Borknagar you could enjoy this.

Tape traded item so unfortunately I don't have a proper cover for it and the only image I could find on the inter nets was the small Metal Archives image. I'd be pleased to get a proper cover scan. The dub itself was ok, a little wear is audible in places but it's not drastic. The recording itself has a pretty good, full sound. Musicianship seems proficient enough to me (well, the somewhat amateurish clean vocals come off pretty awkward like I said) so if you enjoy the style it ought to be listenable.

Shadow Dancers - Blacker Then Better Between demo 1994

2011-11-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

Shadow Dancers - Blacker Then Better Between demo I 1994
1) Blacker Then Better Between
2) In the Heart of America
3) The Wasp
4) God Wanted Dead or Alive
5) Untitled

Mediafire / Megaupload

Some of you might remember me uploading some recordings from Norwegian goths Shadow Dancers in 2009, well here is their debut demo from 1994, courtesy of brother Fenrirsson who kindly ripped me his tape as well as scanned the covers. Much appreciated! He has also provided me with several other rips which will be posted in the future.

But let us get back to this tape, F ripped his original copy and apparently worked on the sound a bit to reduce hissing and whatnot. Anyways, being an old demo tape recorded probably at someone's garage or basement the sound quality isn't going to be dazzling. For a black metal demo (in case you didn't know, the musicians were/are involved with the bm scene) the aesthetic is fitting, for gothic rock slightly higher production values would probably be more appropriate. Well, it gives the recording a certain aura I think. If you listened to the Sverd Storm II compilation, you've already heard one of these tracks and the 1995 recordings I posted featured re-recorded versions of two. Still worth checking out if you enjoyed those recordings. As mentioned in the old post, I like this more than most other gothic rock. One more thing, the tracklisting has only four titles (which are mentioned as chapter I, but that probably refers just to this being the debut demo), the fifth (8 min+) track/outro combo is unmentioned. More info would be appreciated, is this actually part of this demo or another recording dubbed as bonus to Fenrirsson's tape or what? Recommend for open-minded followers of the Coven, fans or Cultoculus and/or Ragnarok, collectors of curios and so on.

Darkstorm - The Past Forgotten CassEP 1995

2011-10-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

Darkstorm (pol) - The Past Forgotten Cassette EP 1995
1) Nocturnal Seeds
2) Of the Old Ones
3) Chains and Leather (Running Wild cover)

Mediafire

Time to post black metal again and once more some Polish material. This cassette EP (well, that's how the trader who dubbed me this labeled it) was the band's third release and yes, the first two tracks were released on the 2008 version of "The Black Stone" CD which you might have. But the third one wasn't so I thought I'd upload this. If you like this, check out the CD. Cover image courtesy of Metal Archives.

It's not the best possible quality dub as the tape is a little worn but very listenable still... if you're a seasoned reader of this blog I presume you're used to less than stellar sound quality. Though the recording itself has a pretty good yet unpolished (heh) and rough demo sound. It's raw black metal with the Polish 90's sound which you either love or hate I suppose. The musicianship is kind of sloppy but in a way it adds to the charm. Recommended for fans of Polish bm, especially of the more radical bands.

At Dawn They Sleep - Red Sun demo 1994

2011-10-27T21:12:00.001-07:00

At Dawn They Sleep - Red Sun demo 1994
1) Anguish
2) Dark Sea of Misery
3) Eternal Lies
4) Dead Emotion
5) Army of Darkness
6) Red Sun

Mediafire

Back to Finland and another item contributed by brother Grev, thanks for the dub & scan! At Dawn They Sleep was a melodic death/dark metal (yes, that hybrid again but read on) band, formerly called Brazen and oriented to thrashier style. They released an album in 1999 and split up the following year. There's another demo called "Lust" recorded in 1998, all of those tracks appear on the album. Which I haven't heard.

As I haven't heard their later releases I can't compare this to them, but this one here is like mentioned earlier melodic death/dark metal. In this case it's not bad at all, it's not too sugary if not blackened either. Reminds me at times of the Frozen Tear demo... and well, quite a few Finnish mid-90s releases to be honest, but it's a good listen. And earlier than F.T. for example. I suggest you give it a try if you like melodic death metal and/or dark metal.

Non Divine - Darkend World demo 1996

2011-10-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Non Divine - Darkend World demo 1996
1) Intro / Demons
2) Darkend World
3) Suffering Christians
4) Dark Upon the Light
5) Gates of Hell
6) Outro

Megaupload / Mediafire

Another pictureless post follows, this one metal. Non Divine was a German black/death metal band and I got this demo from a tape trader comrade around 1997. And that's pretty much all. I don't know if they did anything else or changed name or whatever. If you have info and cover for this, I'd appreciate if you shared 'em.

I don't know what generation the dub my trader had was but it doesn't sound bad. Demo sound itself is ok. The audible bass guitar is nice. Musically it's more death metal than black metal oriented but there are still some elements of bm present. More Deicide than Dissection. They use two vocals, a death growl and a screamier one which works nicely even if it's an old trick. I suppose I'd recommend this for death metal fanatics while black metal purists probably will skip this.

Döden - Kapitel I demo 1995

2011-10-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Döden - Kapitel I demo 1995
1) Kapitel döden I
2) Kapitel av ordern II

Megaupload / Mediafire

Another mysterious item today, all I know of this one is that it's (or more likely was) a Swedish project and this seems to be their first demo. It is also the only one I'm aware of. All further info and cover scan would be appreciated.

I got this from one of my traders in the 90's, I don't think he had an original copy either but the dub is of good quality, as is the sound in general. There's only two tracks but both are very lenghty, the whole demo lasts over 36 minutes. Music is dark ambient with black metallish-voices and desolate atmospheres. I'm not sure I'd call this dungeon synth even if it has elements of that, I'll probably need to consult Andrew about this. This might not be for everyone as it is quite minimalistic and the massive durations of the two tracks isn't going to help, but the patient listeners might enjoy the demo. Granted, the vocals come off occasionally goofy instead of evil and they would generally work better if used more sparingly but despite that I found myself somewhat enthralled by the uneasy feeling and desolate soundscapes. I recommend you to try this if you enjoy dark ambient.

Glamhoth - Reh.Promo 1999

2011-10-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

Glamhoth - Rehearsal Promo 1999
1) Blackhearted
2) Shadow of the Scythe
3) Dark Forces of Nature
4) Millennium of Armageddon

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's some black metal again, a rehearsal/promo tape from the Finnish black metallers Glamhoth of whom I know nothing except the info on the cover, provided by brother Grev - thanks for the dub & scan! This appears to have been a very limited item, 23 copies.

Like you probably figured out by now, this is a rehearsal recording and thus has quite raw sound. Audible and clear enough worry not. There's some tape fail on the beginning of the second track, might be already on the band's recording. Other than that no issues. Musicwise this is quite raw sort of black metal, moving on midtempo and bit faster. There's melodies and thrashing parts too but definitely no synths or female vocals. Nor will there be any, they say so on the cover so it must be true. It's not bringing anything new to the table but this isn't an issue for me, I can enjoy this sort of back-to-basics black metal without extra bells and whistles just fine. Loved the bass on the last track. Check it out for yourself if you're into rawer sort of black metal.

The Equinox Ov The Gods - This Sombre Dreamland demo 1994

2011-10-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

The Equinox Ov The Gods - This Sombre Dreamland demo III 1994
1) Intro - The Beast
2) The Golem
3) DeathWish
4) Into the Slumber
5) Lord of the Crossroads
6) Dance of the Dead
7) Sombre Angel
8) The Obituary

Mediafire / Megaupload

It's been a little while since the last post, I've been busy attending Black Flames of Blasphemy II event, Death In June gig and some other, more mundane stuff. Anyways now I'm back and here's a bit unusual demo, the third (as far as I know) demo by the Swedes operating under the monstrous monicker The Equinox Ov The Gods. Still active, they have released four albums in addition to the smaller releases. I'm interested in hearing the older demos so you know what to do. Traded item, no cover so M.A. image was used.

The music on this half an hour demo is sort of mixture of doom/gothic metal with some heavy metal thrown in. It's not of the whiny sort of gothic quite a few of you probably dislike and expect, it's more dynamic to say so. The vocals are of an untypical clean sort, they occasionally stumble but generally work fine for me. Quite a good sound for an unknown generation dub and the demo itself has a decent, heavy sound on itself. If you're into doom and/or gothic metal you'll want to check them out. I had something else in mind to say too but I'm in a hurry so it'll have to wait.

Aphasia - The Battle of Armageddon demo 1995

2011-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Aphasia (aus) - The Battle of Armageddon demo 1995
1) The Valley of Wandering Souls
2) The Battle of Armageddon
3) Solitude (intro)
4) Lost in a Dream of Lilith

Megaupload / Mediafire

More black metal and another contribution, this one from comrade SuuretMuinaiset again, thanks mate! This is his rip of a traded tape so we did not have covers and the sound is not totally optimal as some hissing is present. Other than that the quality is more than adequate as the demo itself sounds quite raw and rough.

This demo lasts a bit over nine minutes and is a bit oddly arranged as there's about two thirds of it black metal while the rest is taken by intros (of acoustic sort), the separate, named one being 3rd track. And the last track is the shortest, annoyingly faded away in the middle of the proceedings. Music is, like mentioned above, rough sounding and quite primitive. The vocals remind me of some old Beherit work (and more currently, Black Feast) and that's a plus in my books. The pace of the music isn't actually as frantic as you might expect by such short tracks, instead about half of the metal parts are quite slow in tempo, ranging from mid-paced to actually doomy plodding. I like this, I'll need to check out the Destruktor material if it's anything like this tape. Recommended if you can stomach the poor sound and are into this kind of barbaric primitivism.

Nightside - Demo 1997

2011-10-04T21:52:00.001-07:00

Nightside - Demo 1997
1) Frostmaiden's Dance
2) Under a Thousand Stars
3) Where Darkness Shines
4) The Almighty Andras
5) Battlestorms

Mediafire / Megaupload

Another contribution by Grev, here is the first demo of Finland's Nightside who released later a 7"EP and an album before dissappearing. Some people might know this as the band where Serpent did vocals, well, one of the bands as he did that also for Annihilatus. Diabolus Sylvarum from Arsonist Lodge was also a member. Enough vague name dropping, check out the rest from their Metal Archives page, from which is the dreadfully tiny cover image borrowed. I could really use a cover scan for this one!

Almost all of these songs would later reappear on their album but obviously these demo recordings sound different. What exactly do they sound like? Well, like raw-ish, better-than-average demo sound Finnish black metal with more melodic and atmospheric parts thrown in. Generally the impression is more of a ferocious character than melancholic and contemplative, but the slightly folksy melodic bits dull the edge. The sound would be quite good if the drums were a bit more subdued. The dub is not 100% flawless but easily listenable. Final verdict: if you enjoy mid/later 90's Finnish bands like Thyrane, Alghazanth or Flauros give this demo a try, it's not really for the hifi-melodic-metaller nor the necro-catacomb-people but someone in between.

Godblood - Flowers demo 1994

2011-09-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Godblood - Flowers demo 1994
1) Twilight
2) Witch
3) Godblood
4) Howling
5) Deceiver
6) Necrosynousia / σιωπή

Mediafire

Exotic cuisine for today, the 1994 demo by Godblood from Cyprus. First time I get to use the word "cypriot" - I'll want to do that again so I guess I better get to study the other bands from the island... anyways back to this item, I already got a dub of it from brother Grev, but alas! his tape was screwed at the start ruining the sound of the first two tracks. I naturally despaired greatly and lamented until I noticed a copy of this on a small distro's list whom I then immediately contacted and ordered the tape which quickly arrived. Rejoice! Here then is the rip of that tape and scan of the xeroxed cover. Quickest of you have probably already checked out their Metal Archives page which has a cool colour image instead of the rather drab xerox my (and Grev's) tape has. I assume the first bunch of tapes had a colour cover and then the rest had to make do with xeroxed copies of that. Oh well, content counts not the packaging and all that.

About time to get to the content, which is a bit over 25 minutes of black metal in the early Greek vein, except this time it's Cypriot not Greek. I had some trouble with figuring out how to match the tracklisting to the content and as a bonus I had to decipher what the hell was the last title, my knowlegde of Greek being extremely limited and the cover hand written. It'd appear to be "ςιωπη" which I manage to translate to "siopi" which I've no clue what it means... "σιωπή" would make more sense though, as it means "silence" and there is no seventh track, only silence which would make this a witty trick played on the listeners. Naturally, I did not bother to add extra silence after "Necrosynousla" as I'm not at all a fan of silent tracks. Someone fluent with the language could take a look at the cover scan enclosed and confirm my little theory for me, pretty please? - UPDATE: It is "σιωπή" and should be "-synousia" - updated and reuploaded the demo. Thanks for the info!

I seem to have hard time getting properly to the music itself here, ok so it sounds Greek, first track is intro and then the first proper song isn't really that special but the two following ones are, with cool rhythms, riffs and some unusual ideas. Especially the self-titled track manages to work for me even while being over six minutes long, quite simple and repetitive. "Deceiver" stumbles a bit but it's good parts overcome the less fluent bits still leaving it on my good side. Last real song is a lenghty instrumental. A charmingly rough, recommendable release for people into Mediterranean black metal.

Yggtyrhyrkkh Hin Dystre - Hævnfejde demo 1996

2011-09-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yggtyrhyrkkh Hin Dystre - Hævnfejde demo 1996
1) Storhed
2) Val
3) Ode
4) Hævnfejde
5) Outro

Mediafire

Here's another item dubbed for me by Grev, thank you once again, and my second Danish post, by the way. Yggtyrhyrkkh Hin Dystre certainly had one of the least-likely-to-be-spelled-correctly names ever - I don't what or who Y is or what Hin means but "dystre" translates to dark and/or grim. Yeah. The cover (scan of which is included) proclaims they play "Heathen Black Feud Metal exclusively" which basically translates into viking black metal with very raw guitar sound, raw but clear overall sound in general, some timpani and synths, very long tracks which seem more primitive than progressive and barbaric rather than epic. I'm not entirely sure what to make of this, I'm definitely no stranger to raw and primitive black metal but something in this makes it feel less than satisfying, the songwriting seems almost random at times, musicianship struggling and the drums (except the timpani sounds) are kind of annoying.

The dub I ripped was from an original demo so the quality is good and tape flaws to minimum. Nothing except low tolerance for raw black metal should prevent you from joining these Danish berserkers. Oh yeah there's no outro listed on the cover but as there is one, clearly separate from the title track, and just as long as the intro piece "Storhed" I divided it into its own track.

Grand Belial's Key - Live in North Arlington NJ 28.10.2000

2011-09-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Grand Belial's Key - Live at Hartley's Bar, North Arlington NJ 28th October 2000
1) Shemhamforash
2) In Rapture By The Fenrir Moon
3) Foul Parody Of The Lord's Supper
4) Reflections Of The Coffin Lid
5) Sumerian Fairytale - cuts
6) Demonarchy
7) Goat Of A Thousand Young
8) The Holocaust Trumpeter

Mediafire

Here's another live tape and one I should've done long ago... (sorry John!) and another one which is not my rip but a fixed one of a rip I got from the inter nets a few (several) years ago. This one, however, has the tracklisting and dividing of tracks fixed as the original one was sort of fucked up with songs ending halfway and whatnot, probably divided by the lengths of the album/studio versions. So, thank whoever it was who originally ripped and uploaded this gig somewhere (probably Soulseek) years ago.

This is the GBK most of you probably know (as opposed to my other GBK lives which were from the Pussyferian age), with Crucifier's Cazz Grant aka The Black Lourde of Crucifixion on vox (ok quite a few of you probably listened to late Wotansvolk's era GBK too). As expected, it has both "Mocking..." and old tracks on it. Neither of the "Tricifixion..." EP tracks yet, though. Sound quality is an ok audience recording, I'm not complaining. Alas, there are some minor flaws and "Sumerian Fairytale" cuts and "Demonarcy" is not complete either, so I suppose the person recording this had a human failure (had to take a leak or something) or something else went wrong. I don't know if it misses actual tracks in between or just parts of those. Let me know if you were there. Other than that little issue, this is an enjoyable recording if you're into this period of GBK. Recommendable, unless the missing bit drives you insane.

UPDATE: Date and venue corrected according to the info provided on comrade The Deceased's rip here. Which you should get as it's not missing the bit between 5 & 6!

Charnel Winds - Stigma Prior Nefastvm demo 2004

2011-09-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Charnel Winds - Stigma Prior Nefastvm demo 2004
1) Stigma Nefastum
2) Conflagration of Darkness
3) Shadow

Mediafire

You know I seldom post "new" demos such as this one but I do make exceptions. Charnel Winds here definitely is worth making one. This is the first demo, made still as a solo effort (with a session guitarist) and released in 150 copies by Spread Evil. I ripped my original tape & scanned the covers.

The recording has a good, underground sound and production, it's obscure enough for a demo but clear and strong enough. Rip quality is good though the tape has a few little imperfections. They don't make 'em like they used to in the 90's. Fortunately the music is as good as back then, even superior depending of course who you compare to. This is black metal with no artificial sweeteners added to it. It has an occult feel to it and shares characteristics with many of the religious and orthodox bm bands but without going overtly complicated. Recommended as is the following tape I.I.I. which can still be found in several distros and the debut album "Die Teufelsbund" released by Werewolf this year.

Fullmoon - Instrumental Rehearsal 1997

2011-09-21T22:04:00.001-07:00

Fullmoon - Instrumental Rehearsal 1997
1) Warcrimer
2) Luciferian Supreme Darkness
3) Warcrimer (another version)

Megaupload

Some of you probably remember I uploaded a tape with instrumental rehearsal tracks from the legendary (well, at least in certain circles) and/or infamous (rest of the circles, I presume) Fullmoon, here back in last November. Well, I got another rehearsal tape from the same contributor, and actually two different dubs of it to boot. As I was having difficulty deciding which version to go with, I forgot it in my WIP folder until recently when I decided to go with this one and finally upload it. So here we go, thanks to the contributing person!

If you've heard the other similar rehearsals I've uploaded here you should know what to expect; it's not a nice and clean listening experience but certainly listenable and rewarding to the initiated. This tape is no different. The first version of "Warcrimer" is obviously faster than it's supposed to be, but that is how it was on both dubs my contributor sent me. Not the first time Fullmoon material plays at wrong speed. Note that the rest of the tracks are also different recordings than the ones I posted earlier, not sure if they've been available elsewhere. Anyways, recommended for those into old Polish non-PC black metal as well as fans of raw sounding rehearsal tapes.

Susscrofa - Dins Ech Cel D'astertia demo 1994

2011-09-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Susscrofa - Dins Ech Cel D'astertia demo 1994
1) Intro
2) Dins Ech Cel D'astertia
3) Senher Akerbeltz
4) Intro II
5) Pagan, Sacrum Facere
6) Ode A Pyrene
7) Isturitz, Darrie Cant De La Flauto Fadarelo

Mediafire

Pagan metal today and another item which is not my rip; this one I found in the internet, don't remember where it was but the person had the whole thing as a single track so I separated it into what you see above. Correction: I think it was this. Note that the cover (quite poor Metal Archives image) does not list any separate intros, I decided to separate them as they didn't blend into the tracks directly. If you don't like that decision, too bad. Note that the band name is Susscrofa as single word, NOT Sus Scrofa as some sources say. There is another band who use that spelling.

I don't know if the person who originally ripped this (Okkultis?)had an original tape at hand or not, but the rip sounds ok. The demo sound itself isn't that great but it's sufficient and everything can be heard clearly enough. There are not glitches and errors either so good result. Music itself is pagan black metal, melodic but not overtly so and with some folk touches which are mostly subtle. One of the tracks, Ode a Pyrene is sung by the band members a cappella, others use mostly the ferocious snarl of the vocalist. A great demo, pity they did not make more music. Well, some of the members apparently went on to form Stille Volk but I'd have preferred they continued this. Recommended.

Akhkharu - Poisoned Dreams demo 1995

2011-09-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Akhkharu - Poisoned Dreams demo I 1995
1) Prey To God
2) Masochistic Soul Sanctuary
3) Blood
4) Cosmic Ecstasy

Mediafire

Akhkharu was a curious case, you see there are/were apparently no less than three separate entities using this monicker and to make matters worse all were from the States! And active around the same-ish period. Currently the easiest to find is the black metal one, which I'm not really interested in, and then there is the ritual/dark ambient one which I've always been interested in yet never heard, with the Dark Age Prod./Absu/Crimson Moon connections. And then there was this third one, whose (probably only) demo I've uploaded here, rip courtesy of brother SuuretMuinaiset, thanks pal! Information (well, sort info) I found indicates this would be another project by Rood, known to readers of the blog from Creepfog and Goat of the Harvest. No covers nor are any scans of any sort to be found. Would appreciate one.

So what's this like? Well, like I suppose the Akhkharu mentioned second to be, this is of the ritual dark ambient school but unfortunately not very good. The recording consists of chanting, sound effects, clinking and clanking things, synth sounds, electric guitar, spoken passages and so on, sounding quite primitive and pretty random for much of the time. Sound is rehearsal tape-like. I'm quite open minded with this kind of stuff but this one doesn't really click with me. It's not utterly horrible but I don't much enjoy it either. So, I am still looking for the 90's tapes by the DAP/Ishnigarrab Akhkharu, leave a note if you got 'em! Meanwhile feel free to try this out.

Funerary Bell - Unreleased Track 2009

2011-09-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Funerary Bell - Unreleased Track 2009
1) Eleanor's Garden

Mediafire

Here's a seldom seen thing; something from the 00's on this blog. I mentioned in the previous Funerary Bell post I might upload more stuff from them and this (so far) unreleased track from 2009 is just the thing. This is Invoker Of The Shadows (aka Profundiis) performing solo, so far this track hasn't been played with the full band.

The track sounds musically like something off a Varathron recording and soundwise there's no complaining, it has a good demo sound to it. The main vocal is a deeper growly scream, reminiscent of Varathron again. A worthwhile listen if you enjoy FB and/or Greek style black metal. Don't forget to check out the full-lenght album "The Coven" released by Undercover Records.

Mayhem - Rehearsal 1995

2011-09-11T09:18:00.001-07:00

Mayhem - Rehearsal 1995
1) Cursed in Eternity
2) Carnage
3) Deathcrush
4) Chainsaw Gutsfuck
5) The Freezing Moon

Mediafire

To celebrate the date here's another well-known Norwegian name and a rehearsal I got from one of my trader comrades back whenever. This is a (probably) early rehearsal after the Mayhem reformation and I don't know who are the personnel involved... well Hellhammer is kind of obvious and Necrobutcher as well (judging from the tracklisting, it's annoying how the reform Mayhem ignored De Mysteriis... in favour of the old stuff and eventually new) but I'm not sure if Blasphemer is here yet, probably he is. These are instrumental tracks so no Maniac screeching this time. Ok not completely, someone screams "Deathcrush" but that hardly counts, does it?

So how is it? Well, the sound is a very good rehearsal sound and good dub too so no problems there. This is very much a rehearsal tape not a rehearsal demo as you can hear some talking in between the songs and they have some issues getting "Carnage" going. Other than that (and it just adds to the experience, doesn't it?) it's a pleasant listen. Recommended for Mayhem fans, collectors and curious ones.

Enslaved - Live in Ontario, Canada 27.07.1995

2011-09-08T23:04:00.001-07:00

Enslaved - Live in London, Ontario Canada 27th July 1995
1) Intro
2) Viking Metal
3) Loke
4) Fenris
5) Glemt
6) Vetrarnótt
7) Hordalendingen
8) Wotan

Mediafire

Live tapes continued, this one I ripped almost a year ago but it was forgotten in my WIP folder for quite some time before I got around to finalize it. The incomplete tracklisting was the main reason for delay but as you can see above I figured it out. Finally. I got this one from one of my tape traders and obviously it did not really have a cover, I just whipped up that thing to have something to decorate the post with.

This is an audience recording and not really of stellar sound quality. It is listenable enough for the hardboiled bootleg connoisseur, even if the sound gets muddled especially during the faster moments. It's not the worst I've heard (or posted) but sure not the best either. As you can see from the setlist this is mostly "Frost" with some new tracks thrown in and sadly only "Vetrarnótt" from "Vikingligr Veldi" though considering the track lenghts on the first album & EP (aka split with Emperor) this is understandable. Not recommended for fans of the later, progressive Enslaved but worth checking out if you like good old viking black metal.

Aurora Borealis - Childhood Memories demo 1996

2011-09-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Aurora Borealis (den) - Childhood Memories demo 1996
1) Ethereal Goddess
2) Danzing Summer
3) Black Tears
4) Childhood Memories

Mediafire

Another case from the shared band name files, though these guys changed their name to "Aurora" soon after releasing this demo. Also the first item from Denmark I post here. Melodic death metal, almost death/doomy but in general moves in the faster mid-tempo. My dub is from a trader who might have had an original copy or at least early generation dub, judging from the quality which is good. No cover so a Metal Archives image used.

So it has a good sound and production and is far from brutal and/or raw, screamy main vocal, is melodic and Scandinavian. All described so far are one man's pros and the other's cons and the very un-death metal demo title probably further divides the reader base. However, I find this very listenable and am not noted to be a big fan of the NWoSDM-sound so I suppose you can try this out even if you hate In Flames and Dark Tranquillity with passion... odds are you won't like this either, but you can still give it a try. Recommended for fans of the genre and some listeners of (melodic) death/doom might enjoy it as well.

Curse (US) - Blood Rites and Ancient Arts demo 1995

2011-09-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

Curse (us) - Blood Rites and Ancient Arts demo 1995
1) A Blackened Plane of Existence
2) The Summoning
3) Mystical Powers of the Night
4) Call of the Demon Wolves
5) Fuck the Whore
6) Blood Rites and Ancient Arts

Mediafire

[rant]I hate it when there are several bands with the same name. Especially nowadays, the artists of pre-internet times are more easily forgiven but today's punks have no excuses with everyone connected to the net almost 24/7 and with databases like Metal Archives around. It's bad enough with metal bands but then every now and then some assclowns decide to pick up a hip band name, ignoring it's used and associated with a long-standing metal band, like happened with Root (cze). Oh it makes me mad![/rant] But back to the tracks, sometimes I get curious about the other bands sharing a monicker and try to listen to them, even if I personally think one of them to be the "true" one, and this is the case with Curse as well. I'm biased to favour the Finnish one though I enjoy the Swedish death metal band too. This one at hand is the USBM user of the name, long gone now and shrouded in obscurity. Well, you can't find a picture of them or the demo cover on the 'net so that's obscure enough for nowadays standards. Dubbed by Grev who got it from a trader back who knows when. Thanks, bro!

The rip came out well, there is very little hissing and tape wear to be heard and the demo itself has a decent sound, recorded in a studio I'd say. Of course it sounds like a demo but could well pass for a low-budget "official release" too. Music is vicious USBM with a few, tiny touches of death metal sprinkled in. Some of the tracks have almost a militant feel to them which gives character to the otherwise rather generic content. Not bad at all, try it for yourself.

Moon Lore - Rehearsal 1994

2011-09-03T10:03:00.001-07:00

Moon Lore - Rehearsal 1994
1) There Again...
2) Vampire

Megaupload

Today I'm posting another contribution by comrade SuuretMuinaiset, thanks for helping me out! This is a two track rehearsal by Norway's Moonlore aka Moon Lore (I'm certain it was written as one word in the beginning) whose demo 1993 I posted earlier here. This is quite similar to that demo but has already progressed a bit further without yet crossing into the really experimental spheres of the later releases. I still want more rehearsals/demos from the band so get in touch if you got 'em!

Both of these tracks were released on the "Spheres Beneath the Heavens" album but these versions are still more metal, even if they already have elements like female backing vocals and rather unusual main vocal performance on "Vampire". The sound quality is good (especially for a rehearsal tape) and the rip quality is very satisfactory. Some minor wear of the tape is audible but it shouldn't be an issue. Recommended if you liked the demo and/or the album. If you didn't like the album you might still want to try this out.

Innominandum - From the Cradle to the Grave demo 1992

2011-09-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Innominandum - From the Cradle to the Grave demo 1992
1) From the Cradle to the Grave
2) Sleeping with the Past
3) Solitude
4) Shadow of the Holy Script

Mediafire

Here's another death metal demo, this time from Germany and the first one released by the band as Innominandum, they were formerly called Dandruff. I'd say the name change was a good idea. Apparently this would also be their only more serious death metal release as they changed their style to death'n'roll which was a very typical thing to do in the 90's - if not going all the way rock or grunge - and annoyed me to no small extent. I haven't heard anything else from them so I can't really give any first hand comments on how successful their turn was.

This is another tape traded item, no covers I'm afraid, but at least the dub was quite good. The sound on the demo itself is ok, not the best I've heard if not the shittiest either. It comes off a little unclear at times as the music is not exactly straight forward sort, crude and simple hammering (which I personally prefer to technical wankfests) but more complex. I'm not really sure what more to say of this, it's not really my favourite sort of death metal but it has good parts and if you're a death metal fan you should try this out for yourself.

Endermic - The Darkest Cloud demo 1994

2011-08-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

Endermic - The Darkest Cloud demo II 1994
1) The Darkest Cloud
2) Under the Benevolent
3) Magical Things
4) Land of Beholder

Mediafire

Here's an item requested by Grindfreak who contributes to the awesome RAF666underground. I got this one from brother Grev this week and ripped it ASAP so I haven't really had a chance to listen to it, just checked out if it came out all right and it did. No covers, sorry, so another sad image someone found on eBay and posted on Metal Archives is used. Would appreciate a cover scan.

I suppose I should try to say something about it. Well, this is their second demo, has a good demo sound and lasts about 17 minutes. Music is quite melodic but not the Gothenburg sort. And it's death metal. That's enough, download it and listen for yourself!

Cradle Of Filth - Live in Berlin 11.06.1995

2011-08-30T01:53:00.000-07:00

Cradle Of Filth - Live at Knaack Club, Berlin Germany 11th June 1995
1) Intro / The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
2) The Forest Whispers My Name
3) A Gothic Romance
4) To Eve the Art of Witchcraft
5) Dusk and Her Embrace
6) Of Mist And Midnight Skies
7) A Dream of Wolves in the Snow
8) Summer Dying Fast
9) Nocturnal Supremacy
10) The Black Goddess Rises / Outro

Mediafire / Covers (Lesbian Vampyrism version)

Bet you didn't expect to see this name here, did you? Well, I happen to like old COF so shut up. I noticed I haven't posted much live tapes lately so I decided to get off my ass and post this one I ripped already months ago. I know this gig has also been released as a bootleg CD (name of which evades me) but this is a tape recording I had here - I doubt the bootleg CD has much better sound quality anyways.

UPDATE: Grev sent me scans of the covers from the version released by Lesbian Vampyrism Records. Thanks mate!

The sound is very good and clear, it does shift a bit from left to right every now and then but that's not an issue. As you see the setlist is pretty nice, mostly "Principle..." stuff and three early versions of "Dusk..." tracks. The dub quality was satisfactory as well so the rip is good. Assuming you're an old school bootleg-listening grumpy old bastard like me you'll be ok with the sound. If you're one of those darn kids complaining about the "poor sound" on modern, studio-enchanced official live albums, move along and pretty damn fast. So, if you're into older COF you'll want to check this out.

Troll - Studio Rehearsal 23.05.1995

2011-08-28T09:51:00.001-07:00

Troll (nor, Aafjord) - Studio Rehearsal 23rd May 1995
1) Naar Trollet Sprekker

Mediafire

A quick one today, once again an item from Grev, this is a single track rehearsal recording by the other and less-known Troll from Norway, the Aafjord band. Unlike Nagash's project which was basically guaranteed a deal these guys just made a demo in 1994 (which is quite original sounding "troll/forest metal" or whatever, recommended listening anyways), recorded this track, probably rehearsed a couple of times in between, before and afterwards, and then just dissappeared. Which is a shame since at least I would've liked to hear more.

This song is in style similar to the 1994 demo, meaning melodic Norwegian black (well, not very "black" really) metal with folky touches. Very catchy and "trollish" stuff. Unfortunately it suffers a bit from the weak sound quality, manifesting mostly on the very low sound levels, the recording itself is quite clear if lacking in power. The demo sounded a bit messier and more powerful. They use some clean vocals here which aren't the best around but manage their job. Recommended if you liked the demo.

Ravenstorm - Demo 1997

2011-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Ravenstorm - Demo I 1997
1) Night
2) Hatred Is a Memory Made
3) Of Dust and Stone

Depositfiles

More contributions from the near-endless vaults of brother Grev, this is an item I got already last year but it took me a little while to get around posting it. Mostly due difficulty in figuring out how the tracklisting should come out as it lists three tracks yet it has just two distinct ones, the clear enough "Night" and a 8+ mins one which I presume divides into two parts. I picked up a spot where I assumed it changed over and went with that. If I'm incorrect feel free to let me know. Since brother Grev didn't have an original copy either we have no cover to check, maybe it's really supposed to be just two tracks with the latter being a long one titled "Hatred Is a Memory Made of Dust and Stone" which would actually make sense. If this proves out to be the case, I do have it as one track too so it'd be easy to correct. Yeah, so if you got an original copy please get in touch!

Like I mention above, we had no covers for this nor was I able to find a Ravenstorm image so I scanned and used what I found, namely the anti-Ravenstorm flyer seen above. The band was quite controversial in the Finnish scene after appearing on the youth program "Jyrki" where they gave an interesting interview and played one song. I'm not going to focus on their notoriety any further, let's get to the music for now shall we? Melodic/symphonic black metal with a quite good sound it's certainly typical to its time. "Night" is a fast piece with synths and some female vocals thrown in, "Hatred..." starts fast before slowing to a very pleasant atmospheric part which I genuinely enjoy. It gets then faster and adds vocals. "Of Dust..." starts with a synth bit (or the same track continues if the "just two tracks" theory is correct) and continues in brisk midtempo. I haven't heard their material recorded as Wayreth (yet, Grev has their demo) so no comparisons. The dub has some wear to it which might annoy the most sensitive listeners but that can't be helped. Not much so don't panic. If you enjoy symphonic black metal you'll want to give this a listen.

In Articulo Mortis - Sombre Mélancolie demo 1995

2011-08-25T09:24:00.001-07:00

In Articulo Mortis (fra) - Sombre Mélancolie demo I 1995
1) My Underwater Queen
2) By Moonless Night
3) Sombre Mélancolie
4) La Rose et le Marbre
5) Succubus

Mediafire

Some French material this time and another tape traded item, the debut demo by In Articulo Mortis who would proceed to release two more tapes before disappearing. It is rumoured they had recorded a full-lenght album too but that was never released - if it was finished in the first place! Anyways, traded item like I said so no covers, there's only the image above which someone took from eBay. Cover scan would be appreciated.

The sound of this demo is somewhat muffled, could be partly due it being a dub of who knows what generation but I think the original sound wasn't that clear either. Instruments are audible still, including the bass guitar. But you're definitely not going to mistake this for a studio album. Musically this is somewhere in between melodic black metal, dark metal and at places gothic metal. Main vocal is harsh but he also does clean vocals which are stronger on the emotional part and less so in the technical if you know what I mean. They're not really bad sounding in the context. I think I actually enjoy this as it's not too sugary, the instrumental title track for example is very simple but efficiently melancholic. Nice one, I'll need to try to find the other demos.

Lullaby - Lucifer 7"EP 1992

2011-08-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Lullaby - Lucifer 7"EP 1992
1) Lucifer
2) In the Name of the Devil
3) Supreme Majesty
4) Symphony of the Death
5) Lilith

Mediafire

Here's a bit unusual item, a vinyl EP by Brazil's Lullaby, essentially a one-woman show that gained some fame and notoriety in the early 90s. Most of it, as you might guess, by being a black metal (ok sort of) project by a woman. I didn't have an original copy but my dub was of pretty good quality so I ripped it with something else from the same tape. As I thought the end result might interest some readers I decided to post it. Image courtesy of... M.A. or Discogs, can't remember which one this time.

Good sound in a way, it's very clear but lacking in the heaviness department. The music is some kind of doomy proto-black metal soundalike with a very prominent bass. The vocals are sort of coarse, almost growly whispering. Somehow I'm reminded of old Death SS, as well as old Greek bands. All the songs are very short, ranging from 1:03 to 2:38. It sounds quite unique, I'll give it that. Recommended if you're very curious or feeling adventurous.

Trolltjern - Hymner fra Trolltjern demo 1995

2011-08-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

Trolltjern - Hymner fra Trolltjern demo 1995
1) Introduksjon
2) Sagnet om Trolltjern I - Drømmen
3) Sagnet om Trolltjern II - Vandring
4) Sagnet om Trolltjern III - Fjellet
5) Sagnet om Trolltjern IV - Trolltjern
6) Efterord

Mediafire

Another requested item finally posted, once again courtesy of brother Grev - thank you, this is the Norwegians Trolltjern and their only demo from 1995. Despite what some incompetent inter nets sage claims on their M.A. entry, this most definitely isn't black metal, not even close. This is atmospheric wintry music, dungeon synth, a term coined by comrade Andrew on his blog. Grev had an original tape and has kindly scanned the covers which are included within the download.

As mentioned above, not metal, but atmospheric synth music consisting of an intro- and outroduction as well as the main piece "Sagnet om Trolltjern" divided unto four parts. I decided to split all the parts into separate tracks as you see from the tracklisting right up there at the very beginning of this post, rather than have all as a huge 15+ minutes lump. They did divide easily enough. The tracklisting on the cover is like this:
Introduksjon

Sagnet om Trolltjern
- Drømmen
- Vandring
- Fjellet
- Trolltjern

Efterord

You might notice the Metal Archives poster failed that one too. Enough about that, I just wanted to quickly explain myself there, back to the music itself. So it's mostly keyboards and wind effects and some guitar strumming and whispered + spoken vocals and so on. The atmosphere is somewhere in the company of old Mortiis, Ulver's "Kveldssanger" and Wongraven. This is good stuff, not at all tedious or pretentious. Odd how these narrations come out better almost every time in Norwegian than Finnish or in English. Very good sound quality I think and rip came out just fine so if you're into this kind of music I see no reason to not grab this demo right away.

Vergelmer - Rehearsal 10/1993

2011-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Vergelmer - Rehearsal October 1993
1) Shrine Blood
2) Purifying

Mediafire

More from brother Grev's vault, a two song rehearsal recording from Sweden's Vergelmer who were one of the more obscure names in the Swedish scene. They released a couple of tapes and a full-lenght in 1997, apparently spiltting up soon afterwards. I'm looking for the demos and rehearsal tapes so get it touch if you have them.

This one (probably) didn't have a proper cover so I've used an old logo from another 1993 rehearsal tape. Grev's dub was of ok quality and this being a rehearsal, don't expect crystal clear sound. It has a surprisingly strong amount of low end and combined with the almost doomy pace the recording sounds heavier than most bm demos and rehearsals of the era. Good stuff and recommended, even if you weren't at all impressed with their album.

Necrospiritual - Promo-Demo -94

2011-08-12T03:12:00.000-07:00

Necrospiritual - Promo-Demo 1994
1) Fantasy In My Omen
2) Winter Clouds
3) Awakening God

Mediafire

Another Finnish demo and this one is again donated by brother SuuretMuinaiset, thanks for the rip & scans! Necrospiritual, formerly known as Catatonia, was a surprisingly obscure band active in the early-mid 90's and released two tapes, I guess, source is the ever-reliable Metal Archives and my even less reliable memory, under this name. Why surprisingly obscure you might ask? Well, because I remember seeing their flyers quite a lot at some point and remember several distro and trader lists carrying their demos, yet it took me until SM's contribution here to actually hear the band. Why so long? Mainly because the music was described as grind/death with black metal elements which wasn't my thing back at the day, I simply skipped them.

So is the description accurate? Yeah pretty much, though it's not that grindy. Quite good sound, though at a low volume, SM ripped this from an original tape. Two short and one "normal" lenght songs, simple & catchy stuff. I'd recommend this to people into black/death and obviously the gotta catch 'em all-collectors and seekers of obscurity. Not much more to add.

Enchanted By Dawn - Promo Tape 4/1996

2011-08-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Enchanted By Dawn - Rehearsal/Promo Tape 4/1996
1) Through the Time and Space
2) When the Signs Have Filled

Mediafire

More Finnish obscurity dubbed me by comrade Grev. So thanks to him for this tape which appears to be the only release of this band from Kajaani. He didn't have a cover so I've used an image from Metal Archives, as always I'm interested in a full scan so get in touch if you have this.

Tape traded item so it's probably been dubbed a couple of times before ending up with me, but that doesn't sound much. On the other hand, this is a rehearsal recording which you do notice as the music is melodic black metal with some fairly ambitious ideas that would've benefitted from a more... produced sound, I suppose. I must say this is a pretty good rehearsal sound anyways, clear and audible enough. The vocalist uses a variety of styles which work out mostly ok, the whispering voice he uses at the beginning of the second track is a nice touch even if it drowns a bit. His clean vocals sound a bit clumsy so here the rehearsal sound is a blessing as they are also somewhat drowned among the instruments. Would've been interesting to hear more stuff from them, but as this seems to be the only recording I guess that's not happening. Unless they changed name or something. Recommended for collectors of Finnish rarities and those who enjoy both melodic black metal and rehearsal sounds.

Summoning - Promo 1994

2011-08-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

Summoning - Promo/demo III 1994
1) Intro
2) The Valley of the Fallen Kingdom
3) Lord from the Shadow Realm
4) Where Winters Cry Forever
5) Der Sieben die Schlüssel

Mediafire

Here's a bit more interesting post. Summoning from Austria is among my favourite bands, especially from "Minas Morgul" onwards but I also like their debut album which is stylistically closer to their comrades Abigor's old sound. So is this promo recorded before "Lugburz" which was sent to me by brother Grev, once again. Big thanks for this one! No covers and I'm not sure if there even was one in the first place. Would love a scan if it exists.

The sound is a bit on the crappy side but still listenable if you're not expecting polished sophisticated black art. I'd say it's comparable to the old Abigor demos. Everything is audible enough but the volume is kind of low and the growly sort vocals used at times are a bit overbearing, bleeding over the rest of the music. Other than that it's fine, if a bit thin and raw. The intro and five tracks, like mentioned above, are in the same vein as the debut album and actually most were on it as different versions. Obviously mandatory for a fan of Summoning and/or Austrian bm and probably interesting to other freaks into 90's underground black metal. Just don't expect epics in the vein of the later albums!

Deathroom - Violate the New Born demo 1993

2011-08-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

Deathroom - Violate the New Born demo 1993
1) Destrudo
2) Jeffrey Dahmer
3) Adsiz
4) Intro / The Pervert
5) Nature's Been Raped
6) Blood
7) Impotent Minds
8) Violate the New Born
9) Holliday Erectus

Mediafire

Back to metal and my "Turkish death metal" - series, here's another demo I got from the same trader, the 1st version of Deathroom's 1993 demo. Comes with a xeroxed cover and has slightly different tracklisting compared to the 2nd edition, see below for that cover (taken from the MySpace):

Music is grinding death metal, basically quite old schoolish but with some interesting bits thrown in like the melodic part on "Destrudo" and the instrumentals. Good, clear demo sound. I find myself liking this quite a bit, despite some of the lyrics being more life metal than necessary. Check it out if you're into death metal.

Plastic Sampler vol. 1 (1996)

2011-08-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Various Artists - Plastic Sampler volume 1 (1996)
1) Two Witches - Dreamworld '94
2) Sad Parade - Ten Million Virgins
3) Dreamtime - Servants
4) Sepulcrum Mentis - Salto Cum Diabolo (Demo Version)
5) Hundred Million Martians - Hollow (Demo Version)
6) Exedra - Waltz
7) This Empty Flow - Of Blossom And Decay
8) Advanced Art - I Am the Labyrinth (Special Remix)
9) Shade Factory - Her Last Shore ('93 Demo Version)
10) Timothy Moldray - Image of Reality
11) NYX - Siberian
12) Neverwood - First Try (Failure)
13) Scoutgape - Apology (Special Remix)
14) [Active] Media Disease - This Room (Demo Version)

Mediafire - Cover scans+images

Ok, time for another "And now something completely different" - post and this one is very, very different from the usual stuff here. Well, not that different if you think back to Oberon, Landscape & Shadow Dancers which I suppose would be closest comparisons to the material on this apparently uncommon compilation tape made in 1996 by Plastic Passion. I got it from one of my traders who did not provide me with a copy of the covers nor have I ever seen them so no image(s) this time. As always, I'd be happy to get a scan.

UPDATE: Got the scans from Grev, thanks man! Uploaded the scans (+ some pics of the package) as a separate file, link above.

The bands presented on this tape are mostly within the genres of gothic rock and dark electro and with a few (German) exceptions Finnish. Sound is quite good, I don't know if my dub was made from an original tape, could've been. Probably the largest threshold here to cross for my readers is the genres presented. Well, I guess you know by now if you want to check this out or not. Personally I found some of the artists pretty good and actually have further material in this vein in case you're interested. Maybe I post some later but next one will be metal again, I promise.

Skuggmörker - Härskare av den svarta natten demo 1995

2011-08-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

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

Mediafire

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

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

Ghosts Have No Shade - Promo/Rehearsal 4-1995

2011-07-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ghosts Have No Shade - Promo/Rehearsal 4-1995
1) Untitled

Mediafire

If you are endlessly hunting for rare curios of black(-ish) metal nature, this one is for you. I have to say I don't know, or have forgotten if I did, crap about this French project who as far as I know never released anything else under this monicker. I have an extremely vague idea of this being a side project by someone in some French band but the details elude my demented brain. Any further info would be appreciated!

So this is an instrumental rehearsal track of 5 minutes and 26 seconds and has a pretty good sound. Mostly midtempo and quite atmospheric. I don't recognize this as anything else, so I don't know if they could have changed name or if this might not even be genuine. The sound is fuzzy but sort of pleasant to me, percussion is a bit too much on the front and sounds artificial, there's some synth on the background and the whole thing reeks of being unfinished business but I still find myself enjoying it. I suppose I'm easy to please sometimes, see if you are too and try it out.

Tyrant - Demo 1998

2011-07-29T09:15:00.001-07:00

Tyrant (fin) - Demo 1998
1) The Omen
2) The Power Beyond Dimensions
3) The Dungeons of Eternal Torment

Mediafire

Here's another request (finally) fulfilled with the assistance of comrade Grev who has once again provided me with a dub and cover scans - thank you! At least couple of people asked for this demo by Finland's Tyrant a few months ago, sorry I don't remember who right now but here it finally is. For many the reason they are interested in this is probably that Mitja Harvilahti of Moonsorrow fame played on this demo, I don't know which one of the aliases he was but I'm guessing "Shadow" who plays the lead guitar. This is the only release of the band as far as I know.

Now that the name-dropping has been taken care of we may concentrate on the music which is very good melodic Finnish black metal with a good demo sound. Easy to listen, very fluent but not too syrupy or ridiculously pompous or other generally annoying things I often have to associate with sympho/melodic bm. Not too original either but works for me and hasn't gotten boring so far. I suppose I can recommend this to the majority of the readers, except die hard death metal heads or necrocultists.

Gorgoroth - Live in Hilversum 14.04.1996

2011-07-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Gorgoroth (nor) - Live in Hilversum, Holland 14th April 1996
1) Katharinas Bortgang
2) Crushing the Scepter (Regaining a Lost Dominion)
3) Revelation of Doom
4) Ritual
5) Bergtrollets Hevn
6) Gorgoroth

Link & file lost - Help appreciated!

I thought I'd upload a live tape for change, ripped by yours truly from a dub sent by a trader comrade back in the 90's, this is again good ol' Gorgoroth featuring whoever played in the live line-up back then. Pest & Infernus at least. I just noticed I uploaded another Gorgoroth live tape a few days over two years ago! Funny that. I want more of these so if you have, please let me know!

Back to this one. I don't think it is a complete gig as it's only 24+ minutes... then on the other hand it could be if they were not headlining. Well, I don't really think it is, it's probably missing at least two tracks or so and the first one here "Katharinas Bortgang" starts just as the song begins (I think - can't remember for sure now). If you were at this gig and have an amazing memory (or a full recording of this) let me know what if anything I'm missing. I might also mention I got this without a tracklisting but I think I figured out the tracks correctly.

What does it sound like? A raw audience recording of an old Gorgoroth gig, but I find the quality very satisfactory and pretty clear actually. Excellent setlist, obviously. Recommended if you love old Gorgoroth, raw black metal and are not too wimpy to tolerate live bootleg sound.

Codex Gigas - Myom demo 1993

2011-07-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Codex Gigas - Myom demo II 1993
1) Severed Myom
2) Pax vo Biscum
3) Ulcus Crucis
4) The Rot

Mediafire

Here's the second Codex Gigas demo, also courtesy of comrade SuuretMuinaiset. HQ cover scan again included. I'm not writing a novel here, see the previous post. The sound is a little different this time, a bit more full and murky while clearer at the same time, and even if the music still has its peculiarities it is more obviously death metal this time around. Of note is the second track which is for the majority of its duration atmospheric and slow, with female voice, but features bursts of death metal here and there. Good stuff even if I prefer the previous demo a bit more myself.

Codex Gigas - Livid demo 1992

2011-07-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Codex Gigas - Livid demo I 1992
1) Within the Beast
2) Overhauling the Ovary of Infamy
3) The Cemetary for You And Five Billions Moore
4) Livid

MediaFire

I've returned from Tuska more or less in one piece and am here finally fulfilling an old request by THE DECEASED of Lockjaw by posting the debut demo of Uppsala's death metallers Codex Gigas, kindly contributed to me (along with excellent scans) by brother SuuretMuinaiset. Thanks mate! You'll be seeing more of his donations in the near(-ish) future.

Intro plus four tracks for 15 minutes of Swedish early 90's death metal madness is the deal here - most certainly not black metal like the Metal Archives contributor decided to label them! This demo has it all if you're into old school från Sverige: doomy, punishing bits; fast and chaotic solos and segments; cavernous and dirty, somewhat dry but clear sound; malignant vocals more like hoarse screams than death grunts; odd but strangely catchy parts... well just go ahead and download it, damn it. Necessary if you're into death metal, recommended!

Herodez - Halbwelt demo 1996

2011-07-21T03:22:00.001-07:00

Herodez (aka Herodes) - Halbwelt demo II 1996
1) Intro
2) Halbwelt
3) Modern Time
4) Mislead Storm's
5) Tormenting
6) Lost in Grief
7) The Last...
8) Todfeint (Outro) - cuts!!!

Mediafire

I'm off to Tuska Open Air but I decided to first post this tape I finally found in my unsorted box a little while ago. Herodez or Herodes - I'm not sure which one is correct spelling or if it changed but my trader spelled it with "z" and that's what I've used - made two demos and some of the people were involved in another band Gilles De Rais. Unfortunately my dub cuts at the outro, I'm not sure how much is missing but since I've been unable to find this anywhere I thought it an acceptable loss. I've no covers so I used the image from Metal Archives. A full copy would still be appreciated as well as their previous demo "Germanien" so get in touch if you have them.

Other than the cut outro, the dub is of pretty good quality while the tape itself has a quite raw but listenable sound to it. Rehearsal recording probably. I find it fitting to the mostly midtempo grim black metal they churn out. It is quite similar to the Gilles De Rais demo (but the sound is clearer and dub+rip of better quality) so if you liked that you'll probably enjoy this. Recommended for underground demo fanatics, people into old German bm demos (TD) and whoever enjoys this kind of raw black metal.

Twin Obscenity - Behind the Castle Walls demo 1993

2011-07-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

Twin Obscenity - Behind the Castle Walls demo II 1993
1) ...And Then Comes Tranquility
2) Peaceful Oblivion
3) Dream Within a Dream
4) Dissonances of Exquisite Morbidity and Caco-Daemonical Ghastliness
5) The Art of Mesmerization
6) Bloodstone
7) Behind the Castle Walls

Link & file lost - help appreciated

Ok I start by admitting I don't really know if this or "Ruins" is demo I or II but seeing the cover state this having been recorded in September I hazarded a guess there for this to be the later one. Let me know if it's the other way around. Enough of that, this is another treat from brother Grev and some of you might remember me being very excited of their 3rd demo. So thanks to him for dubbing me this and sending scans of the covers, much appreciated!

Even if this chapter in their demonology doesn't reach the same heights as the 1995 tape, it is still a very enjoyable demo of dark and doomy death metal. Very good sound and good quality rip too. I don't think I really need to write much more, recommended!

Disembody - Demo II 1993

2011-07-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Disembody (fin) - Demo II 1993
1) Abandoned
2) Invisible
3) Fuckin' 48 / Desire

MediaFire

I've returned recently from Hammer Open Air and here's another item I got from Grev, being a demo from the Finnish death metal band Disembody. And again I know next to nothing about them so further info is appreciated as would be scans of the covers/band logo/band pic/anything.

This is a tape traded item, several times over I bet, so it is slightly worn but still very listenable quality. The sound of the demo is good, not polished obviously but I think that fits this sort of old schoolish death metal well. Musicianship is not flashy but more than adequate to my standards. A detail I want to mention is the occasional, quite subtle synths in the background. I find myself enjoying this one, especially the first track. About the tracklisting I have to say I got it listing four tracks but I think "Desire" is the short outro sort of bit at the end of "Fuckin' 48" or if not, then missing from the dub I got. But I'm pretty sure it's just that. Recommended for people into old (Finnish/Nordic) death metal.

Blodshunger - Nightside Kingdom demo 1997

2011-07-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Blodshunger - Nightside Kingdom demo 1997
1) Choir of Blasphemy
2) Nightside Kingdom
3) I Am the Wind
4) Blodshunger
5) Raining Blood (Slayer cover)

Megaupload

One more contribution from brother Grev, here's a demo of Norwegian black metallers Blodshunger of whom I know practically nothing. Thanks Grev for dubbing me this one! He didn't have covers for this so I am using the small and pretty bad image from Metal Archives (originally probably from Neseblod). Better image would be appreciated.

So as you might've understood by above, this is a rip of an unknown generation tape traded dub which obviously means it's not as good sounding as one might wish. However, it came out well audible enough with some minor wear & tear but nothing drastic. The demo itself claims to have been recorded in a studio but the sound is not exactly clear and sparkly to begin with. All instruments are audible anyways. Musically this is black metal, not very pointedly Norwegian, yet still quite standard stuff. Doesn't really excite me while it's not bad either. If you're a collector of black metal demonology or really fanatic with your Norwegian black metal you'll want to download this.

Nocturnal Arts - Demo I 1997

2011-07-12T00:03:00.001-07:00

Nocturnal Arts - Demo I 1997
1) Nocturnal Arts
2) The Black Tower
3) Gabrielle (Thou Shall Live Forever)
4) Dance Black Flame

Mediafire

This post should be interesting to some readers, as this is the earlier band of the Thyrane folks Blastmor & Daemon. And musically it is quite similar to early Thyrane, being melodic black metal though this apparently leaned more towards dark metal both musically and lyrically. I got a dub and scans from brother Grev so thanks once again to him!

Good sound and dub quality was also satisfactory so no issues there I think. Like I mentioned already this is in many ways similar to early Thyrane, including lenghty song durations - these four tracks last 27+ mins. A bit more melodic and not as black as "Black Harmony" was but equally proficient musicianship and decent songwriting. Some female backing vocals included. Not probably recommendable for the necro-oriented listeners but those who enjoy 90's melodic black/dark metal will definitely want to listen to this.

Fermenting Innards - Live Track 1993

2011-07-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Fermenting Innards - Live in Germany 09.10.1993
1) Innocent or Indecent

Mediafire

Some readers might remember I posted the EP by Fermenting Innards two years ago here. This post is a quick filler, a single live track from their 1993 gig somewhere in Germany (I might've known the venue once but that info is lost) and the first thing I heard from them. Dubbed to me by a German friend back in the day, I never found out if the whole gig was recorded or just this track. If you by any chance do have the whole thing, let me know!

Good quality live sound I'd say. Clear and loud, possibly a soundboard recording. This song was also on the EP so if you've heard that one you know this then. The vocals are more shredding live though. Recommended for people into black or death or black/death metal.

Thromdarr - Rehearsal 1992

2011-07-08T23:34:00.001-07:00

Thromdarr - Rehearsal 1992
1) Stronghold of Kanthar
2) Serenades from Eternal Darkness
3) As a Wind Cries Ancient Tears
4) The Drowned Sun of Alhambra

MediaFire

This is (probably) the last Thromdarr item I do, a 1992 instrumental rehearsal tape I got from Grev again. Kiitti! This has also been called the first version of the "As a Wind Cries" demo and the M.A. info adds Intro: The Dawn of Samhain to the tracklisting but this was not the case on the recording I got. Mika from Thromdarr verified the tracklisting above and could not remember if this recording was supposed to include The Dawn of Samhain or not. So I've titled this simply as Rehearsal 1992. If someone has the actual instrumental "As a Wind Cries" - version. I'd like to hear it to compare to this tape.

Four instrumental tracks for about 15 minutes of black/death metal in the ol' Finnish vein is what is presented on this clearly worn old tape. With a suitably muddy sound it is not going to impress the hifi-enthusiasts even if Mika recalls the original having a quite good and clear rehearsal sound, this particular dub has been going through so many hands and plays it shows. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly listenable still. Features also their last track written as Necrobiosis, the second one "Serenades..." You should also check out Violent Journey for some recently released Thromdarr merchandise. That is all.

Blasphemous (swe) - Promo 1994

2011-07-08T23:00:00.001-07:00

Blasphemous (swe) - Promo 1994
1) Intro
2) Levitate to the Kingdom
3) Malleus Maleficarum

Mediafire

Another contribution from brother Grev and again a Swedish band. This is the black metal Blasphemous from Sweden - I think this one even though this obscure tape isn't listed on their page. If it's NOT them I'd appreciate if you correct me! Anyways, we had no cover so I've just used the logo. I'm interested in the other demos so if you have them, you know what to do!

To the content: it's early 90's Swedish black metal with a very underground sound and production values. If you don't know what that means I suspect this might not be for you. The dub quality is ok even if the age and Xth generation of tape trades show through a bit. An intro and two quite short, mostly fast songs for almost 8 minutes. There are some melodies and death metal influences present (well, it IS Swedish and early 90's) but I find it pretty safe to call it black metal rather than black/death or what have you. If you can stomach the pretty crappy sound and enjoy bands like Behemoth (swe), Belsemar, Decortication, Sorhin, Satariel etc. you'll want to give this a chance.

M.O.O.N. - Moonlight Invocations demo 1996

2011-07-05T00:17:00.000-07:00

M.O.O.N. aka Moon (tur) - Moonlight Invocations demo 1996
1) Death From Above
2) Moonlight Shadows
3) Ancient Hate
4) Sin Rain

Megaupload

Time for another Turkish death/doom demo, this again gained from a tape trader ages ago. I didn't have a cover but I've included a pretty good image I stole... borrowed from Demo Archives. Seen above is the Metal Archives image. And yes, I'm well aware the band was still called just "Moon" at the time this demo was released, however for clarity's sake I chose to tag 'em as M.O.O.N. (spelling they adopted a bit later) for ease of telling them apart from the other bazillion Moons.

Pretty good quality rip of a decent dub, the sound could however be more balanced yet this is an issue with the demo itself. The main vocal is a bit overtly strong and goes a bit more for the right ear. The music and instruments are still well audible, not drowned fear not. The sound changes a little (for better balanced) around mid-demo and completely again for the last track. Quite good death/doom with a touch more violence (due the vocals) than usual and some neat synths in the background. Worth checking out if you enjoy the genre!

Creepfog - A Yearning Is Whispered demo 1995

2011-07-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Creepfog - A Yearning Is Whispered promo-demo 1995
1) Horned God of the Woodland
2) Upon the Rolling Hills of Splendor
3) When Blood Boils Black

Mediafire

Do you remember the G.O.T.H. 'zine & compilation I posted last year? Well, here's the 1995 recording by the editor's band Creepfog which I thought was also featured on the compilation but now that I check it sure wasn't! So where the hell have I heard this before? Or did I just mix it with something else? Who cares, here's the demo anyways courtesy (again) of brother Grev who had gotten a rip of this from a trader which I edited a teensy bit. Thanks Grev & the other guy! No cover, I just used the logo from M.A.

This is a pretty short one, less than 8 minutes for three tracks and music played is USBM performed in the more brutal and raw vein. More Profanatica than Xasthur so to say. Crude, ugly, primitive yet clear and audible enough soundwise, the performance is obviously not virtuoso but works for what it is and I find myself enjoying listening to it every now and then, but it's definitely not a daily treat. More like threat to a sophisticated listener I suppose. If you enjoy stuff in the vein of old Beherit, Blasphemy et all you'll probably want to give this a listen.

Grim - Färd demo 1995

2011-06-30T10:26:00.001-07:00

Grim (swe) - Färd demo I 1995
1) A Spiritual Journey
2) War March
3) Svävande igenom hallarna

Megaupload

I've been lazy, suffering away the hangover caused by this year's Nummirock. However, here's finally another post with an item we have again comrade Grev to thank for, thanks! This is the rare demo of the Swedish Grim, listed as black metal in Metal Archives which is misleading enough to warrant a severe caning and possibly a tenure in 3rd world prison. Anyways, this is most certainly not black metal at all, this is pure dungeon synth. You know, like Mortiis, Wongraven & co did at the same time. And of course a ton of bands did little numbers in the same vein for their intros and outros. I could not find a proper cover image so I trimmed a little the one posted on M.A.

The tape has a bit murky but listenable sound and features three long tracks of dark ambient dungeon music performed by a guy in corpse paint seen on the cover above. I understand why the cover might be misleading someone to believe this was bm. The whole demo is a bit over half an hour long with the songs getting longer as it proceeds. The opener is mostly synth sounds, some wind effects plus occasional raw vocals and reminds me of old Ultima soundtracks, while the second one, true to its name, features militant percussion and various marching band instruments. Unlike typical martial industrial apocalyptic moods, the feeling here is more uplifting and even joyous. The third track begins with acoustic guitars and has generally a folksy, trollish feel to it if you know what I mean, this changes to more somber synth based moods with some vocals in the background. Quite a varied offering for three tracks and worth checking out if you enjoy this sort of stuff!

Ascendance #11

2011-06-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ascendance 'zine, issue 11 (December 1996)
Interviews:
Lux Occulta
Lunar Aurora
Majesty (fin)
Officium Triste
Electric Wizard
Cold Mourning
Unsilence
Star Gazer
Trillium
Count De Nocte
Thus Defiled / Shadowlore
Paradigma
Las Cruces
Heavenwood
Catafalque
+reviews & news

Megaupload

I surprised myself and finally finished scanning this little 'zine the other day and decided to upload it without further ado. Ascended was a Finnish 'zine which released a large number of issues as you can see by this being #11. Concentrating on various kinds of doom metal with some black metal thrown in (at least this issue and the few preceeding ones, there's some death metal too) this was a well-written fanzine and I wish I'd more of his issues than this one. The reviews are quite good too. I don't know how many more he put out after this one, but I'd be pleased to see any of them. Unusual size takes a little while to get used to but works. Unfortunately some pages feature a white stripe covering some of the text, I guess the printer he used was acting up. Recommeded reading if you're into the bands/genres involved and actually you might want to check it out even if not.

Gospel Of The Horns - Promo 1995

2011-06-20T00:21:00.001-07:00

Gospel Of The Horns - Promo 1995
1) Nocturnal Passage
2) The Wolf Lore

Megaupload

Here's an item I actually ripped already in October 2009 but it was left hanging on my desktop while I was trying to verify it and then I sort of forgot it. Now you ask: for a year and a half?! Well, it was inside another folder... anyways, here it is finally. Those of you with a vinyl player are adviced to grab the Kneel Before the Master's Throne LP re-release of "The Satanist's Dream" which has these tracks as bonus along with another one from 1994. What I'm posting here is what a trader friend dubbed me as "Promo 1995" back in 1996 or 1997. I don't know if a proper cover art even exists, possibly not, but at least I don't have it. I just used the old Gospel Of The Horns logo (which I prefer). Originally I misread the handwritten tracklisting and had the second track as "The Wolf Lone", these things happen, apparently it is "..Lore".

The tape was not perfect I'm afraid, there's some audible wear & tear and it's probably dub of a dub of a dub of... well you get the picture. It's still very much listenable quality, the sound of the recording itself is quite typical demo sound and sounds very 90's Australian if you know what I mean. Thrashing warlike black metal, not as thrashy as the later material though. Very good anyways and recommeded!

Volkh - Alla Pohjolan Moukarin demo 1996

2011-06-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Volkh (fin) - Alla Pohjolan Moukarin demo I 1996
1) Intro / Genital Grinder (Carcass cover)
2) Alla Pohjolan Moukarin
3) Musta Sateenkaari
4) Outro / Revontulet

Megaupload / Mediafire

Here's another tape I got from brother Grev and another band I know preciously little about. It's most likely a one-shot project by member(s) of some Finnish band impressed by Storm's album and Fenriz' Isengard, perhaps the Finnish Perkele too. Grev did not have the covers for this one and I was unable to dig them up from the inter nets so nothing of the sort included and if you have them let me know!

This is a very short demo, only a bit over six minutes in lenght and none of the tracks crosses the two minute mark. The starter track, a cover of an old Carcass track, is an unexpected way to begin a folk/pagan metal demo but it fits in quite well after all. Sound quality is not the best possible, first of the source tape seems a bit worn, especially right in the beginning and the recording itself is rehearsal quality. The instruments and vocals are audible but not certainly crystal clear. Musically this is, as stated above, similar to Storm, Isengard and Perkele. I'm not sure if this is a "serious" project or just made for the heck of it. M.A. mentions another self-titled 3 song demo which I'd be curious to hear, if such exists. Give it a listen if you're a fan of the name-dropped bands or looking for a brief, entertaining musical curio.

Dim Nagel - Satanic Overdose demo 1994

2011-06-14T09:54:00.001-07:00

Dim Nagel - Satanic Overdose demo 1994
1) Vicious Valraven
2) Helvetes Slotten
3) Wheels of Destruction
4) Mett av Dage
5) Through Chambers of Desolation

Mediafire

This should be an interesting post to some readers, sorry I took my sweet time once again with this! Dubbed me by brother Grev, here's the 1994 demo by Norwegians Dim Nagel who would later evolve into Endezzma and include ex-Kvist personnel while this demo features the session drummer Fenriz whom you probably know from somewhere. Or so I'm told. No covers so I've used the terrible, tiny pic from M.A.

I freely admit my interest in this is based solely in the Kvist connection. There are some similarities popping up here and there but overall this is in one hand more direct and rawer than the Kvist material and in the other gets quite folky at times. Also it would seem like the recording would be somewhat unfinished as the tracks get shorter and shorter and more rehearsal jam-like towards the end of the demo. The sound quality is rehearsal demo type but quite listenable and you can make out most instruments without getting grey hairs. Obviously you'll want to hear this if you're a fan of Kvist and I'd be interested to hear the rumoured other recordings if there indeed are any!

UPDATE: Found info somewhere saying this most certainly DOES NOT feature Fenriz but the Kvist drummer and this recording would be the unreleased EP (1st tracks) and a rehearsal - probably all recorded Dim Nagel material then.

Semen Datura - Demivierge 1999

2011-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Semen Datura - Demivierge demo-CDr (?) 1999
1) Wine of Bacchus
2) Finaler Geist
3) Instrumental
4) Bishop of Blood
5) Land ohne Horizont
6) Quellen
7) Die Rache ist mein

Megaupload

Here's a curious release by the Germans Semen Datura - it is not listed in their discography in M.A. nor on their homepage. I got this CDr with xerox covers and the band members' signatures when I bought a lot of black & dark metal CDs a year or two ago and I can't remember for the life of me what the seller had written about this, probably CDr. I'm assuming it's either a demo or a promo of new songs as some of these tracks appear on their debut album "This Love Is Dead" and none are featured on the "Black Wings" EP they released also in 1999. So probably this would've been released between the two. Possibly just spread to a few people, I don't know. If you do, feel free to enlighten me! Scans included.

It's quite obvious this is a demo/promo sort of recording, from the roughish sound (for this type of music, mind you) and production to the quite minimalistic xeroxed covers and CDr. It is full album lenght at 39 minutes. The sound changes a bit half way, so it was probably recorded in at least two sessions. The music is the sort of dark/black metal quite common to the latter part of the 90's, probably influenced by the various symphonic bands and comparable to melodic, more at-the-time "modern" Norwegians like late-90's Dimmu, Obtained Enslavement, Old Man's Child, Morgul and whoever else there was. Just check out some old Century Media, Napalm & Nuclear Blast ads. I suppose you know pretty much what to expect by that? Obviously it has a German touch, whatwith big part of the lyrics being in the language and all. Synths are obviously used, as well as some okay (they sound better on first half) clean vocals too. Not bad, but this sort of dark/black metal hasn't been my favoured sort of poison in years. I do like some of the tracks, like the second one and overall it seems to grow on me a bit with repeated listens. Enthusiasts of the style should be warned that the demo sound might make the music a bit messy at places and makes it a bit uneasier listening.

Parricide - Live in Istanbul 24.06.1995

2011-06-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Parricide (tur) - Live in Istanbul, Turkey 24th June 1995
1) Scatterings
2) Tears
3) Thoughts of Pain

Mediafire / Megaupload

Another live tape, this one sort of companion to the Asafated one I uploaded a little while ago. Not just as this too is doomy death metal from Turkey, but from also the same date and probably the same venue. As the tracklisting above hints, this is a pretty short one and possibly incomplete. Of course, I've seen bands play very short sets myself, even this short (remember Horna warming up for Gorgoroth at Tavastia in... uh... that one year?) but more likely this is just incomplete. Leave me a note if you happen to know!

Tape traded item, audience recording I suspect but has a good live sound. Quite balanced and audible. Music this particular Parricide performs is slowish and thus doomy death metal, with some synth backing it up. It's not at all bad, I haven't heard their "Scatterings" demo but would like to do so, again leave me a note if you have it! I'm not 100% sure of the second tracks title, that's what I got and he'd seem to say so too. They don't have a track of that name on the demo however. Which naturally needn't mean anything. Anyways, the tracklisting I had didn't include the third track either. But enough about that, this is what I've got for today.