Svartsyn - Aandens melankoli MLP '96 (2015 Remaster)

Svartsyn (nor) - Aandens melankoli mini-album 1996, "unreleased" CD remaster 2015
1) Forhekset av nordlyset
2) Den monumentale horde
3) Mektigens herskere
4) Døden...jeg våkner!

Sendspace / Depositfiles

Gnarled Records

Third post on this mini-album?!? Surely you jest? - must be what many of you are thinking even while this certainly isn't the first time the Coven emulates TV broadcasting with reruns. Now it is, however, perhaps more justified than ever as what we have here is both the best sounding version of the material in question as well as an officially endorsed upload. You see, as I (finally) updated to the write up of the previous version of "Aandens melakoli" here, Gnarled Records hailing from Germany did a very faithfully remastered vinyl re-release in 2015 which I urge you to order if you have a preference for the format and/or a player. There was also an unofficial CD release on Burznazg which I've been told is no good at all. Anyways, I was recently approached by Steffen of Gnarled Rex via email and he informed me that a CD remaster had been made as well but it was decided against releasing it in that format. However he decided to make it available for people with no vinyl player or preference for the digital and sent me the files which I've now uploaded. He has also put up a link at the Gnarled site, see link above. Thank you for sharing, Steffen!

The music has been discussed already here and here, so I'll just repeat it is slow and gloomy material, quite unfit for sunny spring days perhaps but recommended. And the remastering is excellent work, by Patrik W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. It really brings out details and nuances buried in earlier versions. Yeah, so if you still haven't heard this but like black/doom metal, or just slow and dreary material in general it is about time to give this a try. Next post will be in the more usual vein and most likely old Finnish material. Unless I change my mind again or heavy protests arise.

Ancestral Goetia - We, the Tribute to Lust demo '94

Ancestral Goetia - We, the Tribute to Lust demo V 1994
1) The Celestial Prostitute
2) Banished Impurity
3) In Darkness I Shall Dwell
4) The Penitence of Illusion
5) The Unknown Circle of Lust
6) Beautiful Princess of Their Tears
7) Enchanting Lands of Perdition
8) Het Lustful Incest
9) Deathcrush

Sendspace / Mega

As the last item of January I'd like to present a fruit of an international conspiracy, the fifth (and probably last) demo tape of the French cult Ancestral Goetia, making the uneven numbers fully represented at the Coven. An ancient entity who should not be named contributed the rip and it was divided unto tracks by sister Borderline's daemon familiar. Thank you to all parties involved! A cover scan would be smashing so please get in touch if you have it.

Ancestral Goetia demos II "Mortal Tears of Desolation" and IV "Satan's Jester" are still needed, feel free to contact the Coven for any clues to their whereabouts. Stregoica tapes remain in like obscurity and must be tracked down. Various rewards await successful explorers, treasure hunters, grave robbers and other adventurers. Rewards may be spiritual in nature.

Let us concetrate on what we have at hand, this tape is very likely the longest of the lot, reaching full album length easily. The Metal Archives entry listed ten tracks, last called Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Necrodoom which is curious enough but it was not on the recording delivered unto me. Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be there anyways as it would (quite obviously) seem a better match for a Necrodoom title, which also starred Stregoica 'zine staff. Where was I? Yes, so this ends with the (extremely predictable) Mayhem cover. The sound is still cavernous and very necro though guitar and well everything really is a bit more prominent, stronger and generally audible. Unfortunately due the imperfection of the rip it frays a bit along the edge. Music is mostly in the same vein as the previous demos so it is safe to say if you enjoyed them you're going to dig this too. Tempos vary from the rather brisk pace of the opener to the wallowing murkiness of the short second track and there's heavy metal gallop and almost standstill dooom to be encountered later. As before some synth is used to warp the atmospheres even further and small amounts of female vocals have been added to spice the brew. Works surprisingly well as it's subtle enough, more of an eerie background element than a presentation of random girlfriend-of-the-week's singing "talent" so often encountered on demos. On the earlier entries I dropped names left and right but seemed to forget to compare this to the Dutch bands of the era, you know stuff like Malefic Oath, 13 Candles, old Occult, Bestial Summoning, Hordes, Deinonychus et cetera? I think Ancestral Goetia is closer to them and the old Swiss bands in style and sound than the Nordics, or Mediterraneans for that matter. There's food for thought, I'm off to gather some for the corpus. Recommended for maniacs into slow and poisonous, unhealthy sounds.

Filii Nigrantium Infernalium - Os Métodos do Pentagrama demo 1993

Filii Nigrantium Infernalium - Os Métodos do Pentagrama demo 1993
1) Madonna Negra / A Feiticeira e o Pentagrama
2) A Lagoa de Pazuzu: Stygia, Águas da Serpente Tiamat
3) Retorno ao Ritual
4) O Gelo

Mediafire / Depositfiles

A cool, almost chilling wind blows outside as is expected of June in Finland. Summer always makes me think of Southern black metal so this is a good opportunity to welcome the season with a contribution by our comrade unholydeath. We stay in 1993 and this is the first and only demo released under the name of Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, formerly ('89-'92) Bactherion, a still surviving Portuguese cult band with rather scarce discography. Unholydeath included enormous cover scans for your reversed reading displeasure, thanks again for that and the rip!

Right, I know several rips have floated in the cyberspace since the beginning of virtual reality but since this is a good rip and the demo is a classic with plenty of character I wanted to feature it. In case you're not familiar with it yet, there are three long (seven minutes and more) songs and a shorter, interlude-like one of mostly slow tempo black metal sung in Portuguese. Calling it black/doom would not be out of place. Actually it was quite unique for its time but didn't get much attention. I remember people were talking (read: bitching) more about the reversed writing and logo than the music. Clear sound with prominent bass and vocals which sound like tormentous shrieks forced out of a possession victim. Much of the time dual which adds to the effect. Gotta love that messed up "solo" bit in the late part of "Retorno..." they don't make music like this anymore! Early Samael might be a reasonable name drop once again, Necromantia could be another. But I have mass to attend so enough words. Recommended and I really wish I'd find their old live tape I know I have somewhere!

Barathrum - Battlecry (Unmixed) demo '92

Barathrum - Battlecry demo II 1992 unmixed 1st version
1) Sacrilegium
2) Nocturnal Dance
3) Justice of the Shining Steel
4) Battlecry/Outro

Mega / Rusfolder

Today I decided to upload a sending by brother Grev, ripped by his comrade, thanks as always gentlemen and it is an item I was requested last year by a certain person, after a bit of deliberation I decided it'd be worthwhile to include it here as well. This is the first, so-called unmixed version of the second Barathrum demo "Battlecry" and I am sure most readers should be quite familiar with this band by now? The requestor provided me with a cover so it is included.

So what are the differences between the two versions, beside the cover? Well, this one does not have the rather dumb intro Epilogue the second has, cutting the playtime to roughly 18 minutes. Also the vocals are different, devoid of the overt pitch-shifting. Music sounds less muddled too, crisper and slightly... lighter? As in heavy vs. light not dark vs. light-way. Songs and music themselves remain the same but the changed sound affects the result a lot. I personally prefer this version over the second one. All of the songs reappear re-recorded on various Barathrum albums (1st on "Saatana", 2nd and 3rd on "Eerie" and 4th sans outro on "Hailstorm") but if you wish to hear them on rougher demo form I suggest this over the "mixed" version (actually this is mixed too, read the cover: mixed and produced by Sami Jämsen and the second version does not give any further info on it, but curiously changes the studio name from Sound Grinder Studios to Gothic-Sound and reduces Jämsen's role to "help" so there is that). JetBlackMetal!

Tears of Misery - Demo '95

Tears of Misery - Demo '95
1) At Bath Woods
2) The Depths of Emptiness and Sorrow
3) Shadows of Reality
4) Before a Vision
5) Fallen from a Dream
6) A Grand Eclipse
7) Across the Black Horizon
8) The Twilight Zone

Mega / Sendspace

Another dive to the non-metal pool, this is actually one of my requests fulfilled, thanks to the sender! I got curious about this demo after reading the vaguely positive review on Petrified #4 and added it to my wantlist and to my surprise it was among the things my contributor ripped and sent me. Cover scans included too.

I said non-metal but that's not really accurate at all as this is sort of metal for well over half of the time, the review compared this to Abruptum but little more melody and metal parts to Hellhammer which is going too far in my humble opinion. The first track with metal, which also is the first proper track, "The Depths of Emptiness and Sorrow" does at times take me to Abruptum, sounding a bit like "De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet" in some points and a little like Windham Hell at others. But definitely not like Hellhammer, it doesn't have that sort of drive or groove, it's more in a meandering, haphazard semi-doomy vein. Most of the time thankfully instrumental but there are some vocals too which are mainly of the demented, warped bellows school but there's more like silly, bubbly screaming and other pleasantries. Last track features spoken female voice which apparently was enough to distract Thorns to ignore the male noises. Which reminds me, Petrified's reviews really sucked, didn't they? There are even male vocals on the same damn track! Sheesh!

Right, crude ambient metal with suitably crude yet clear sound. I really really disliked this on initial listens but strangely enough parts of it are starting to sound more interesting to me after a bit of time. It could be sleep deprivation too. And the kind of neat cover. As usual, for the adventurous souls.

Angizia - Kissarna demo 1995

Angizia - Kissarna demo 1995
1) Ein Scheidelied
2) Heidedamm
3) Im Abendland
4) Schlehdorn einer Schattenwelt
5) Der Walstat Blüte wegen

Mediafire / 4shared

Let's do quickly another Austrian item, this time a contribution sent by comrade RunningWild, thanks! This is the '95 demo by Angizia, another part of the Napalm roster in the label's heyday and while technically this is really the second demo in practice it's the first and only as the March '95 demo "Nordheim" was unreleased. Wonder if anyone has it anyways? That was a subtle hint. Right, Angizia remain active and have released seven albums and a split with Amestigon which is where I heard them first and apparently have continued to progress to even further into avant-garde strangeness. I can't really say much about that as I've only heard some of the 90's albums and promptly decided it's not my sort of circus.

But back to this: five tracks of which three are short ones and the second and third long. Music at this point is still clearly rooted in the black/dark metal tradition and could be categorized either as black/gothic/doom metal or perhaps neoclassical dark metal. Raw black metal rasps and howls are the main voice. At times kinda reminds me of their countrymates Korova but less avantgardishly bizarre at this time. Many of the songs sound straight like classical music with black/dark metal vocals added with extra instrumentation. Not bad really, I should give their albums another go though I remember not being too much into the split the last time I took a listen. I'd love to write more but I must hurry so pick this up if you got curious and/or collect Austrian demonology.

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

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

 Reuploaded - 2022

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

Here's the info bit from the cover.

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

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

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

Pohakka - Minä kävelen vetten päällä... demo 1997

Pohakka - Minä kävelen vetten päällä... demo I 1997
1) Minä kävelen vetten päällä...

Depositfiles / Mega

Still more from master Sorvali's stash, here's the one and only demo of the Finnish project Pohakka. You might remember I posted a rehearsal tape back in 2010? I didn't post any links to the demo back then as there was a pretty decent rip floating around and easy enough to find. Well, now that I got this rip I thought I'd upload it here finally. Comes with a cover scan.

Like some already know, this demo (and the rehearsal tape too, it's the same song in rough form) consists of only one, looong track which I've seen called both "Minä kävelen vetten päällä..." and "Untitled". Since the day I got a dub of this from a tape trader I've been under the impression it'd be called "Minä..." and I'm going to stick to that. The cover itself doesn't really waste words, only additional thing written on it is the contact address. What does it sound like then? If you're familiar with the rehearsal tape but not with the demo, this sounds softer, obviously more produced and has more elements and instruments added. It is still quite minimal and repetitive, almost more ambient than metal. Somewhere between funeral doom and black/doom metal might be close call. The softer sound, acoustic guitars and keyboards take away some of the rehearsal versions harshness and bring the mood to more contemplative, melancholic one. The vocals are very sparingly used which is a good decision, they're not really much to write home about anyways. It's quite pretty, moody music. Recommended if you like slow and atmospheric stuff.

Master's Devotion - Celebration rehearsal 1992

Master's Devotion - Celebration rehearsal 1992
1) 13 Candles
2) In the Wombs of Acheron
3) Lullaby of the Lullabies of Sabbath
4) Portal Beyond Decay

Yandex / RGhost

Another more obscure recording today, though this one is metal. Some of you might know the Brazilian black/doom band Asaradel who released three very necro demo tapes between 1991 and 1993, which have been re-released on CD in 2011 ("...Of Satanas / Avernus / Perpetuating the Law" - get it!) and some less necro tapes later, taking a more gothic death/doom or something like that approach. They've also contributed with another band called Oráculo as O Oráculo de Asaradel for one demo in 1996 which I'd like to hear. This is not Asaradel, this is Master's Devotion, but the band features at least the main man Getulio and possibly other personnel too. They're neither any sort of pre- or post-Asaradel as they existed at the same time, though as far as I know this might be the only release. The rip here was made by me from a dub provided by brother A.S. again, thank you! Sadly no cover, though I'm not sure if any exists as this is a rehearsal tape.

If you're familiar with Asaradel you'll notice from the tracklisting above two familiar titles: "In the Wombs..." appeared also on the "Avernus" demo 1992 and "Lullaby..." would resurface on 1994's "A Dance of Pure Triumph" obviously re-recorded. This rehearsal tape has a good if very stripped down rehearsal sound. The music is slow and dreary black/doom mixture with an atmosphere of desolation supported by the scarce instrumentation and almost clean guitar sound. Main vocals are harsh screams which drown a bit in the music as if they were another instrument. It sounds a bit like mixing old Samael with the Colombian Nebiros. And obviously old Asaradel. "In the Wombs..." adds clean backing vocals which fit well enough into the mixture, sounding actually more like some Iron Maiden chorus than a choir of damned monks or some other sinister thing. This version is quite different to the Asaradel version, not as necro and more melodic. Excellent rehearsal tape, if there are other recordings under this monicker I'd like to hear them. Recommended for people into obscure early 90's black metal not just from Scandinavia.

Barathrum - Live in Kuopio 8.11.1991

Barathrum - Live in Kuopio, Finland 8th November 1991
1) Deep from the Depths
2) Demon Est Deus Inversus
3) Into Maze of Nightmares
4) Black Flames and Blood
5) Gate to Jetblack Desires
6) Winter of the Black Snow
7) Witchmaster

Yandex / Mediafire

I spent the Friday evening attending a gig in Kuopio and yesterday recovering from the trip. Inspired by that I decided to post this live recording, also from Kuopio but a few years back and featuring a different band which should be familiar to the readers of the blog by now. This rip was sent to me already quite a few months ago by comrade Drowned, so thanks to him. Of course no covers exist, the one seen above is again a placeholder by me.

Don't know the venue this was recorded in, I think I remember seeing a poster or flyer for a 1991 Barathrum gig which may or may not have been this one, further info welcome. Anyways, they play for a bit under half an hour and the "Witchmaster" demo in full. The sound is a little bass heavy and slightly chaotic but still listenable. Drowned had applied noise reduction to tackle the hiss but I'm not a fan of this as it tends to mess up the high end. That's not very notable here though. If you haven't heard the Witchmaster demo, or old Barahtrum in general, it's quite doomy and general slow to midtempo black metal and they keep the speeds in check live too. Recommended to Barathrum fans, obviously, as well as any into old school bm or black/doom combo.

With The Winds - Rehearsal 1995

With The Winds - Rehearsal I 1995
1) In the Caress of the Winds

Depositfiles / Narod

December 6th is the Finnish independence day so I decided to celebrate that a bit late by posting something Finnish. With The Winds was yet another project by the prolific young musicians from Wanderer/Raven/Haven In Shadows and so on. They never released a demo with this one, just a couple of tracks recorded in their rehearsal room. Probably they lost interest or motivation in this one, which is a shame, at least I enjoyed this. No cover, as expected, and I don't think a logo exists either?

This is basically a rehearsal recording, though made with a four-tracker so the sound is quite rough... well, very similar to their other recordings actually. Unfortunately there's some tape wear or whatever dub fail in two or three places, short but annoying little distractions. Otherwise it sounds good. Musically this is again atmospheric and quite slow dark/black metal, this time a complete work with vocals (raw and clean ones), synths and whatnot included. If you enjoyed Haven In Shadows or I Flow In Depths... you probably like this one too. It's much better than IFID. Recommendable.

Svartsyn - Aandens melankoli MLP 1996

Svartsyn (nor) - Aandens melankoli MLP 1996
1) Forhekset av nordlyset
2) Den monumentale horde
3) Mektighetens herskere
4) Outro

Narod / Deposit

This is another repost. I try to keep these to minimum but in this case there was a very good reason to do it like this. Please bear with me and definitely download this now and discard the original version!

It appears I was right with my hesitation back in February 2011 when I first posted Svartsyn's mini here. The dub I had was incomplete, but even worse than thought. It was missing both "Forhekset av nordlyset" which is an intro type track but over four minutes and an unmentioned and -titled outro on B-side. That is around eight minutes of material! Fortunately I have now gotten a dub of the actual vinyl from comrade Kurgan and ripped it - the end result being both better (though a little tape wear may be heard in places) than before and foremost complete. Apologies once again to people who already have downloaded this, the really annoying side of the tape trading thing was the occasional sloppy individuals who's botch the dubs, not bothering to mention something was missing etc. But better to have it fixed late than never I suppose. See on the right an image of the MLP back cover, with the tracklisting (missing the outro).

What was said of the music applies still, though of course I guess I could say something about the intro and outro that were missing. Well, the intro is gloomy, desolate and atmospheric, consisting of synths, effects and spoken words. It works and doesn't feel too long despite being just over four minutes. The outro is a sullen instrumental piece which is very nice. That's enough, get it already. A half an hour of gloom and doom that fits the season.

UPDATE: I should've really added a mention of it here, but since the initial post back in '12 there has been an unofficial (read: bootleg) CD re-release of this on Burznazg which various sources have informed me to be quite poor and an official, devoutly remastered vinyl re-release on Gnarled Records which is excellent. Comrade Rhun sent me a rip of his copy which I decided against uploading here as it would be piracy and I get seasick quite easily. If you have a vinyl player and a preference for the format I recommend ordering a copy, it is reasonably priced and still available. This of course will not do much for those of us lacking one. Rejoice! Steffen of Gnarled got in touch with me and informed me they did a CD master but decided against an actual CD release for various reasons. However, he has made that version available, you may either grab it from the label website or from my yet another repost on this.

I decided to let this version stay too as it is made from the original vinyl version and differs from the remastered edition, obviously.

Barathrum - War Metal Studio Session 1993

Barathrum - War Metal Studio Session 23rd October 1993
1) Beltane
2) Boundless Arts
3) Sinister Autumn
4) Soaring Up from Hell
5) War Metal
6) Dagger, Seal, Vengeance
7) Moonshine Calls

Narod / Depositfiles

Saturnal Bandcamp

Today's item is another contribution by brother Drowned and quite a rarity, the studio session for what was supposed to be Barathrum's fourth demo "War Metal" but it remained unreleased as something went wrong during the sessions and Demonos was very displeased with the producer and the recording. Later it seems like the band members have lost the tape but luckily some copies had been dubbed to people. Drowned had gotten this from a US trader who possibly got it directly from a band member, whatever the case may be in the end I'm certainly thankful for them having it and sharing it! No cover was made (as far as I know) so I just made up another one. Was a bit torn between using the old logo and the new version but considering the era of the recording went with the old one. See below how it'd look with the more recent one. And I know it's been spelled "Warmetal" everywhere but I went with how I got it, though I have my doubts the spelling might've been corrected by the traders somewhere along the chain.

Tried the new logo too.

All seven tracks were new at the time and like the Barathrum tradition is, would all eventually be recorded and used again on the future albums: first two would appear on 1999's "Saatana", next two on a 1993 rehearsal tape and album-wise as late as on 2002's "Venomous", the title track, with spelling "Warmetal" would be included on 1997's "Infernal" and last two tracks on the second album "Eerie" (1995), with "Moonshine Calls" changed to "Moon Calls". So all tracks are in a sense familiar ones and move mostly in the slower midtempo speeds, the title track being fastest number and others having that black/doom vibe to them.

Yeah but what does this sound like? Well, it is a studio recording and Barathrum stringed section of the time consisted of two guitarists and either two or three bassists, I can't remember if all three were actually there for this recording. So it sounds quite heavy and the bass presence is certainly there. Which fits the slightly slower overall tempo well. It doesn't sound quite as powerful as it might and the vocals are maybe a bit high on the mix, not completely overpowering but the most audible element still. Perhaps the sound isn't the optimal but it sounds good to me, it's a demo anyways, and it's certainly easier to digest than the rather exotic sound used on "Sanctus Satanas"/"Sanctissime Colere Satanas" so I'm not really sure what was the issue with this. Was it something to do with the mix? Or the vocals? Whatever the case, if you enjoy older Barathrum style I'm quite sure you'll like this recording too.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to mention here that Saturnal Records re-released a remastered version of this recording as "Warmetal" on vinyl and digital (Bandcamp link added above) and as "Jetblack Warmetal" on CD, which has the "Jetblack" 7"EP as bonus and is obviously the recommended version! Unless you're an impractical, vinyl collecting snob in which case you need to track down a separate copy of the EP, it was also re-released but limited to 300 copies.

Faerghail - Rehearsal 1995

Faerghail - Rehearsal 1995
1) In Dreamful Supremacy

Mediafire / Depositfiles

A quickie to end the month, here's another Faerghail item I found dubbed to end of a tape, obviously as a filler by one of my tape traders in the 90's. I posted their cassette EP last year, if you wondered about that "another". This is something probably just dubbed to some contacts of the band and then around the tape trading circles so no real cover exists. I went with maximum minimalism this time.

As you note, this track would later appear on the 1996 demo of the same name which I haven't heard so I can't say if this version differs much. Of course since this is an earlier rehearsal recording I'd assume this sounds rougher and more primitive. Style-wise this is slow to midtempo dark metal and sounds doomier than the material on the cassette EP. Not too bad rehearsal sound, the raspy vocals are buried somewhat by the stringed instruments but I can live with that. It's pretty decent and makes me want to hear the first demo and the rehearsal demo mentioned on M.A. So, not a shining pinnacle of musicianship but has that crude charm and a wintry atmosphere to it. Recommended with some reservations.

Rotko - Lusifer-Lusifer demo 1996

Rotko - Lusifer-Lusifer demo I 1996
1) Horns of Mine
2) Lusifer
3) Lord of South and Fire

Depositfiles / Mediafire

Back to Finland and obscure black metal, here is demo I of mysterious Rotko of which I only got info from my trader, besides the title, year, 1st demo status & tracklisting - quite a bit actually, that it was a "Barathrum project". Which obviously means Demonos Sova's project and as you may see from the tracklisting, two out of three tracks are familiar from Barathrum albums: "Lusifer" was redone as a faster version and with English lyrics on "Venomous" and "Lord of South and Fire" appeared already on the 1995 debut album "Hailstorm". Not sure if the first one has been renamed and -used later. I've absolutely no idea if a cover existed for this release, knowing Sova I'd be surprised if there wasn't one but I haven't had any luck finding one - or much info on this either! I was wondering if this might've been sort of same for Barathrum as The Lord Diabolus was for Beherit? Though I don't recall Sova having issues with Opyros & N.E.P. - anyone got actual information? Due the lack of cover art, or a good pic of Sova from 95/96 I decided to decorate the post with the old Barathrum seal - you could interpret Rotko as translation of Barathrum to Finnish, even though a common, literal translation of 'rotko' to English is 'ravine'.

So is this very different from Barathrum? Well, not really, it most resembles demo era sound mixed with the first three albums. Sound is quite rough demo level and he's using drum machine. Very prominent bass, slower doomy tempos and ritual atmosphere. Some (semi-)clean vocals are used besides the black metal barks and roars. Crude, ritualistic, primitive, fascinating, barbaric, occult, charming and jetblack are some of the adjectives that come to mind while listening to this tape. Absolutely fascinating and I really like the slower, Finnish version of "Lusifer" (which would again appear in slightly different form on the second demo which I'll post later). Recommended, especially if you're into older Barathrum.

PS: Forgot to write that I'd be interested in Sova's other projects Kirous and Fall so let me know if you have those recordings. I think Kirous did 2-3 tapes and no idea about Fall. And thanks but I already have Demonos Jetblack material.

Denken - Tristes Melodias unreleased demo 1996

Denken - Tristes Melodias unreleased demo 1996
1) Dentro de Mi
2) No Existes
3) Triste Final
4) Nube de Sueños
5) El Ente
6) La Opresión del Terror
7) Cancíon de Hadas
8) Sinfonia Homicida
9) Unknown Title I
10) Unknown Title II

Reuploaded

Once again an obscure item, the unreleased 1996 demo and also the only release I know of from Spanish Denken who appear to have no online presence yet. It is of course possible they could have changed name and released a whole bunch of releases, if you happen to have any info on the band I'd be interested to read it. I got this tape from one of my traders and he didn't seem to have much to tell either, just the seemingly incomplete tracklisting which had 8 titles while the demo seems to have 10 and the country of origin.

So what's the content of this mysterious demo like? It's mostly slow black/doom sort of material that brings old Katatonia to my mind, up till the 1994 EP I'd say. You know, funereal and mournful blackened doom dirges rubbing shoulders with gothic metal or even rock. Not as good as old Katatonia, mind you, but not bad either. The sound quality is of obvious demo level but personally I've no problem with it, the slightly thin, echoing sound sort of fits with the content. Main vocal is an effect-laden black metal rasp which is not bothersome if not awesome either. An interesting item if you're into early Katatonia but it overstays it welcome a little with the 40+ minutes duration.

Howll - In to My Kingdom demo 1996

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

Mono-version!

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.  
UPDATE: Well, seeing that this version was lost with the destruction of an external drive and the Mediafire fiasco back in the day, you'll have to listen to the mono rip for now. I could also ask brother Grev for the other version but let's work with what we have.

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.

Lullaby - Lucifer 7"EP 1992

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

Reuploaded

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.

Gorplough - In Valle Tenebrarum demo 1996

Gorplough - In Valle Tenebrarum demo 1996
1) Cruces Blancas
2) Señor de los Sueños
3) El Horizonte de los Sentidos
4) Los Hongos del Placer

Reuploaded

I'm back again and here's an item I ripped quite a long time ago, it's been lying on my desktop so I decided to start with it. Spanish black/doom/death/whatever hybrid here, as far as I know their only recording, dubbed by a tape trader back in the 90's. He did not send me a cover so I'm using the image from M.A. which looks strangely like a CD cover, was this released on tape or CD(r) or both? I've very little info on the band myself... I must note my trader comrade wrote this to be a 1996 release while M.A. says 1995. I'm sticking with my comrade's description until proven wrong.

Four songs of gloomy and heavy black/doom hybrid which has an old school vibe to it, making me compare it to bands like Mortuary Drape, Opera IX, Countess, Barathrum, Nebiros (col), Xantotol, Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, old Necromantia et cetera. Old school southern black metal spirit is strongly present without being a carbon copy of anyone in particular. There's some synth included, but it is used quite tastefully and adds to the atmosphere. The main vocal is a raw half-scream, but other styles pop up time to time. Notable example is the retard chorus on second (or was it third?) track! All lyrics are in Spanish, which sounds cool with this style. A good demo, give it a try.

Svartsyn (nor) - Aandens Melankoli MLP 1996

Svartsyn (Norge) - Aandens Melankoli MLP 1996
1) Forhekset av Nordlyset / Den monumentale Horde
2) Mektighetens herskere

Discontinued as obsolete!

I hesitated to upload this one for quite long, even though I promised to get it done already in September (sorry Megaborea!). At least I had a semi-decent reason for it: I don't have this on vinyl, only a dub from a trader I got without tracklisting back in 9-something and I was very uncertain how the presumed three tracks were supposed to be on what appears to be only two tracks! I was first thinking the (much!) longer second track was supposed to be two, changing to one somewhere on the go but then I read the review of the original vinyl and apparently it's just brief intro and two mammoth songs. I also remembered I had the Incitatus demo which features an early version of "Den monumentale horde" which helped me to determine the first track's proper is that very song. I think my tape seemed to have all of the mini-album there so I'm guessing the "Forhekset av nordlyset" - bit is just a very short part at the beginning. It'd be great if someone could verify this!

It'd be also great if someone would present me with a rip of the vinyl itself. Like I mentioned this here is a rip of an unknown generation dub of the album. However, it's still quite decent quality and it's not like we had much alternatives is it? So until that happy day we are stuck with this one. Music on this is atmospheric, slow, at times even oppressive mixture of Norwegian black metal and funereal death/doom. It's pretty awesome. Shame they didn't release anything else, of course comparing to several other Norwegian bands and musicians it is a good thing someone knows when to quit their band. Recommended both for gloomy doom fanatics (not traditionalists though) and morbid black metal personnel who enjoy the slow stuff.