Adversary - Promo '94

Adversary - Promo 1994
1) Intro: Into the Fog
2) Slave to Eternity

Yandex / Zippyshare

No-one seemed to have much to say as to what direction the next post(s) should head so I decided to slap here another old, short Israeli black metal item. Remember Dalmerot's Kingdom I posted a few years ago? Oh, actually six years ago. Time flies. Anyways, this is the pre-DK band Adversary with their very short '94 promo tape, just an intro and one song. I haven't heard the '94 demo which appears to feature versions of this material so can't make comparisons. This was, as you probably guessed already, another tape traded item and I've no idea if there was some form of cover made. Most likely not, this seems an item just dubbed to some folks they were in touch with.

The intro is a brief atmospheric synth piece, possibly (read: most likely) borrowed from some soundtrack or other, considering how different it sounds to synth on the proper recording. The main course is black metal with very, apparently typically to several other bm bands of the time and region, prominent and slightly distracting percussion, quite tastefully executed moodful synth-driven breaks and crunchy-sounding guitars. Pretty much a more primitive version of the Dalmerot's Kingdom material. The vocals are also kind of lost among other ruckus but seem your usual raspy screeches with decent enough execution. Some of the shifts feel a bit jarring and the song ends kind of... soon? Like if it was an abbreviated version. Well, at least they don't overstay their welcome. The part near the end with whispered vocals brings something to my mind but what, can't quite put my finger on it! Recommended to those dedicated to exploration of the more exotic scenes, fans of old proto-sympho black metal and obviously those who enjoy Dalmerot's Kingdom.

Grimoire - With Blackstorms We Come... promo '94

Grimoire - With Blackstorms We Come... promo October 1994
1) Conjuration
2) Beyond Eternal Nights

Mega / Rusfolder

The weather has taken a pleasant turn to slightly cooler but I still wanted to keep up with the southern summer campaign for at least a bit longer. Today we have, to counterbalance some of the recent posts, some Israeli material from my vaults. Grimoire from Herzelia was active for a few years around the mid-90's, releasing a demo, an album and this promo tape here. Their name popped up with slightly surprising frequency in fanzines and tape trader lists, considering the rather limited discography. Most of that was probably due novelty factor and I guess they were quite active with correspondence and such. I didn't have covers for this but fortunately there were pretty good scans on Discogs, thanks to user ateshu.

There are two quite long songs here and the first one was also featured on their demo "In the Darkwoods Sovreignity" which as an aside I'm not very fond of. I disliked the sound on it, guitars are way too subdued. The sound here is rougher than on the demo but also more to my liking, the instruments are in better balance and guitar more prominent, percussion less in your face. Bass is notably audible here (on the demo also). Okay, I admit the faster sections do get messy but that's a minor issue, of course your mileage may vary here. Songwriting is quite elaborate for a debut release, there are no synths here yet but several atmospheric passages which do well enough without them. Things do not always flow very fluently but that is to be expected, a few errors give demo and rehearsal recordings character. Some slightly oriental tones can be heard on the second song, but not to the extent of the album which was pretty much sympho black with Middle East melodies.

That's enough for this time, should next post continue with the theme of summer heat and southern sounds or is it time to cool down with some freezing northern noise? Or perhaps as a more neutral option something from Central(-ish) Europe? Cast your vote and it might actually matter!

Enochian Key - Rehearsal 03.05.1995

Enochian Key - Rehearsal 3rd May 1995
1) The Revival of the Shadows
2) Return of the Pagan Mesopotamia

Mediafire

Another rehearsal tape today and this one is possibly an unfamiliar name to many. Enochian Key was a short lived Israeli black metal band who released only one cassette EP during their run, though there were two rehearsal tapes also circulating the tape trading scene. Well, that is two as far as I know and this is one of them. No covers made (I think) as this was again a thing dubbed to some people and then spread around.

The recording sounds acceptable, it is a rehearsal tape after all so don't expect much. The sound is pretty clear and most things are audible though the drums are too much on top and together with the keyboards they drown out the guitars pretty much. The guitar sound itself could be better. Vocals are quite typical raspy gargling, not very memorable nor offensive either. Musically this is melodic and the songwriting and the keyboard presence bring older Cradle Of Filth strongly to mind, with the atmospheric breaks and all. Not bad but I prefer the cassette EP myself (which also features the second track). Worth checking out if you enjoy this sort of music, happen to be their fan and of course for the historical value.

Divine Lust - Promo 1994

Divine Lust (isr) - Promo 1994
1) The Sick Rose
2) Forest

Reuploaded

I need some help with this curious little item - I have next to no info on it and would love to have what little I got verified!

Ok, so this is a short two song promo from (so I was told) Israeli Divine Lust and this is from the 90's, the longer track is based on William Blake's poem "The Sick Rose" and is moody gothic/electronic/darkwave piece which would fit right on the "Plastic Sampler" compilation I posted back whenever. The second, shorter track "Forest" has more prominent synth and a bit different, almost growly, throaty voice. It's probably based on a poem too. And would also fit on that compilation too. That's all I got, if you know anything and have links, images, whatever, please leave a comment.

UPDATE: Was informed this is a 1994 release, post updated to reflect that!

Gallows - The Butterfly promo 1993

Gallows (isr) - The Butterfly promo 1993
1) Here the Flying... Flew... Already Gone
2) The Butterfly
3) Children
4) Testimony of a Sanguinary Generation
5) ...And No One Made a Sound
6) Optimistic End

Reuploaded

Here's a bit different item, again, this time still metal though. The Israeli band Gallows isn't very well known, I think, and I don't have too much info on them either. Metal Archives lists another tape before this one, neglects this completely and then mentions the re-release in 1995 which also appears to be the last release. I have somewhere a flyer for this tape, I'll scan it add to the post if I find it. As you probably guessed by now, I got this from a trader and have no covers. Would appreciate a scan if you happen to have them.

The music is sort of progressive metal with death metal vocals and both death & thrash metal leanings. It sounds quite jazzy to me in many places, throwing in some semi-mandatory middle eastern folk influences in the mix as well. Lyrically it would appear to lean towards life metal, but I suppose that can be excused. Personally I have somewhat mixed feelings about this... I like some of the proge parts and especially the keyboards on 4 & 5 (which the tracklisting I got seemed to list as "Testimony of a Sanguinary Generation - And No One Made a Sound" but it has a clear break at 6:30, dividing it into two tracks) and the harsh vocals come out quite well. Musicianship, sound and tape quality are very good too. This just isn't my favourite sort of music in general. But as said, I like 4 & 5 and the rest is okay too so I suppose I can recommend this to open-minded readers.

Dalmerot's Kingdom - Promo 1997

Dalmerot's Kingdom - Promo/Advance Tape 1997
1) The Fall Of The White Light
2) Invoke Thy Enchanted Dreams
3) Satisfaction In Belagror's Ancient Form

Reuploaded

Symphonic/melodic black metal from Israel, this advance tape from 1997 contains three songs which were supposed to be rough advance versions of tracks from the band's first promo "Tower Of The Black Rose" but they never completed and released that tape (as far as I know) choosing instead to record their debut album. These advance tracks were copied to people on normal tapes, so no covers available. This is an early generation dub so the sound is good.

I haven't been really listening to the more symphonic black metal bands for some time so I'm not feeling very well qualified to make comparisons. The first two songs are quite long at 8 and 7 minutes and both have many parts of varying tempos etc. while the third song is a little shorter at 5 minutes and mostly slower with many sorts of vocals employed, with shall we say varying degrees of success. Overall, this has more of that elusive Mediterranean quality than some other symphonic efforts made around the same time, maybe due the more restricted use of synth. Not bad really, give it a shot if this sort of material at all interests you. I'm still kind of tired after Hammer Open Air so you're not going to get much more out of me.

Oracular Discander - As The Willow... demo 1995

Oracular Discander - As The Willow... demo 1995
1) Undigested
2) As The Willow
3) Accumulated Time
4) The Sadness Stream
5) Volatile
6) Stolid Face
7) Patterns Of Lies
8) Tributary

Reuploaded

I've returned from Black Curse Over Hellsinki II - event, which was good times, and decided to celebrate getting home in one piece by posting something completely unrelated. So here you are, Israeli doom/death with ethnic vibe, reminiscent of their coutry mates Orphaned Land's early material. Though this is slightly "harder" and darker as well. This is a tape traded thing, again, and the dub was not really great but the end result came out ok in my opinion. Basic sound is a little rough yet clear. No covers so a really tiny, crappy image from M.A. included. As usual, if you've the covers (or better scans) let me know. Recommended for death/doom fans, Middle Eastern Folk Metal fans, collectors of exotic stuff and maybe dark metal fans.