Forgotten Kadath - The Lost Book demo '95

Forgotten Kadath - The Lost Book demo 1995
1) Journey in the Eastern Lands (Intro)
2) The Book
3) Gregorius Philus
4) Via Giugoti
5) Yuggoth
6) Sanitarium (Outro)

Mediafire / Sendspace

Today we're having some Italian doom, courtesy of our comrade Profoundemonium again. Last time he contributed me the Dream Upon Tombs demo and this continues in the tradition of atmospheric and obscure stuff. Thanks for the rip!

As you may see from the cover art from above as well as the band name and song titles this is material inspired by master HPL and thus something young Velkaarn would've been very thrilled of. Well, I still enjoy most things Lovecraftian but not to the same fanboyish fervor anymore. Though I admit I got a strong urge to play Arkham Horror. And to listen to Thergothon which I'm going to put on right after this.

Could you please concentrate on this demo while it's still on thank you? Ok, not a very long one, slightly under fifteen minutes. We've an intro, outro and an interlude (Via Giugioti) each with roughly a minute to their name and three "proper" songs of which Gregorious Philus is an instrumental. Sound is pretty good, kind of obscure and with the guitar a little more distant than usual, with a very clear bass. It's not the muddled sort of obscure, don't get me wrong, more like perceived-through-a-veil-of-mist sort of obnuliated. And I just love the keyboards that come in on the second song The Book, just delightful and now I want to listen to Novalis instead of Thergothon. The effected vocal makes me think of some older Aarni material, or perhaps Umbra Nihil? I should probably check, but I don't really want to do that now. The instrumental G.P.  continues in similar vein and is a bit shorter, yet features some very catchy tunes that however have some sort of strange quality to them. The interlude is somewhat ominous and the last proper track Yuggoth is more guitar driven than The Book was. The vocals have less effect to them and seem a bit more aggressive and menacing instead of the otherworldliness earlier presented. General mood of the song is also more, well, driven and focused than before. The outro is desolate flutes, not quite crazy enough to convoke Azathoth but a nice way to end the tape.

I enjoyed this quite a bit and would really like to hear what little more there is to be found, namely the split/collaboration tape with their black metal side project Atropos (there's a rip of this around so should not be a big challenge to find) and "The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath" released in '95 when they were known as Kadath and played death metal though that probably isn't of similar style or quality. Recommended if you're into atmospheric (death) doom, a Lovecraft-connoisseur, fan of old Italian underground metal or generally very curious.

Kharadrai - Shadows of the Sea demo 1997

Kharadrai - Shadows of the Sea demo I 1997
1) Caduceus
2) The Sleep of Khona

Rusfolder / Depositfiles

Back to Finland and let's do a non-metal thing today. This is another contribution, sent by Henri after my request for Kharadrai material, thanks for humouring me! Kharadrai was a synth project by the Meathooked 'zine editor Sami Heikura who used the same pseudonym for himself and was also a member of Thornfrost and a contributor on the first Lunar Womb demo. Meathooked #2 has a brief article for further background info on the project, if you haven't read that. Initially I got just the music but fortunately Henri found the covers too so scans are included.

This first demo consists of two titles and apparently was a bit too minimalistic to the artist's own liking later on. The covers imply this would be influenced by H.P. Lovecraft which is always (well, almost always) a bonus in my books. Neither of the tracks is overtly long, leaving the total playtime at almost eleven minutes and making sure they don't overstay their welcome. Actually they could've been a little bit longer and I don't find them too minimalistic, I rather like this. Ok, the second track is less active out of the two but still not as static as many other ambient things, especially in the more cosmic oriented vein which is where this leans too. I'm starting to get confusing so better quit while I'm still ahead and go grab a snack. The later Kharadrai material has a bit more stuff going on but we get back to it another time. If you're into ambient stuff or interested in the Meat Hook Productions roster, grab this.

Cthulhu - Ph'nglui Mglw'nath Cthulhu R'Lyeh Wgah'nagl Fhtagn demo 1996

Cthulhu - Ph'nglui Mglw'nath Cthulhu R'Lyeh Wgah'nagl Fhtagn demo 1996
1) Fragment I: The Sky of Yuggoth (Summoning Cthulhu)
2) Fragment II: Dream of Cthulhu (Deep in the Ocean)
3) Fragment III: Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh Wgah'nagl Fhtagn
4) Fragment IV: Cosmic Streams (Melancholy of Cthulhu)

4shared / Depositfiles

Here's a contribution that's been on my folder for quite long already and it's another non-metal item, this is the 1996 tape from the Russian Cthulhu, later renamed Cthulhu Biomechanical after a change in style and it was a side project of Draugwath/Blackdeath members Para Bellum and Abysslooker. This was released on Para Bellum's Hungry AK-47 Productions, clip 03. I was looking for a rip or a copy of this for some time but fortunately comrade DM had gotten a rip from somewhere and sent it to me, thanks. Notice that the rip was mistagged as CB which is just incorrect. I also edited it slightly to remove some annoying snaps and crackles between the tracks. No cover scans, would appreciate them.

Musically this is dark and quite spooky ambient, Para Bellum calls it "Darkest Cosmic Trance Music" on an interview and I suppose his description is accurate. He also mentions they used only guitars and basses for the recording, no keyboards, which is quite amazing. The music does reach spheres of cosmic otherness worthy of the concept and name and works better than for example Black Orchid as they've kept it instrumental. Some had compared this to Neptune Towers but this is much darker. It sounds like dungeon synth at times, but can you call it dungeon synth if they have used no keyboards? In any case, recommended.

Arkham - Promo-Tape 1897

Arkham (fra) - Promo-Tape 1897 promo 1997
1) Interdimensionnal Spheres
2) Dreams in the Witch-House
3) The Other Gods

RGhost / Mediafire

Today's post is another demo that combines two things favoured by me; black metal & H.P. Lovecraft. And no, it was not recorded in the 19th century, the band merely wanted to be witty. This is the second or third, can't remember the order, tape by French Arkham who were quite heavily influenced by Lovecraftian Mythos and other related works. Which is why I've always had a soft spot for them, I loved HPL's stuff in my youth and devoured everything I got my hands on. Ripped from a traded tape, but this time I found pretty decent scans courtesy of someone on Discogs.

Three tracks which run a little less than fifteen minutes and soundwise closer to the debut demo than the '97 rehearsal, but musically closer to the rehearsal with less playing around with synth and different vocals. Though both still do appear. The dub was of decent quality even if it does sound a little muffled at times. I'm running out of reasonable things to write as I'm famished and in dire need of coffee. Melodic French black metal with somewhat underground sound and Lovecraftian content, take it or leave it. Personally, I enjoyed this.