Cracen - The Legend demo 1992

Cracen - The Legend demo 1992
1) Intro
2) Cracen
3) The Ancient Legend of Doom
4) Evilyn
5) Threnody of the Dead
6) Outro

Reuploaded

We continue the Mediterranean cruise from Italy to Greece and to the obscure black metal band Cracen who are best known for releasing a split 7" with Legion Of Doom on Molon Lave in 1993 as Bestial Wrath. This here is their 1992 demo. Alas, this is a rip of an unknown generation dub but the quality is good even if I say it myself. You notice the track listing above has Threnody of the Dead and Outro separate, but they really blend into each other and should really be a single track so I've added a link to that option too. Other explanation would be that my dub simply is missing an additional outro, but as far as I know it's complete. Feel free to correct me if the assumption is wrong and preferably provide a link if it's so. I would also love a scan of the covers if one can be found!

Thanks to the person who gave me the correct cover art. Jolly good.

UPDATE: Most of the blabbering in the first paragraph is now obsolete as brother Y.Deadness has sent me a rip of his original demo, which also includes scan of the original cover. The tape I ripped was indeed missing the outro so that version was fucked up. Sorry 'bout that. Download this version right now!

Musically this reminds me of other early Greek black metal bands but manages to sound quite unique despite that. There are touches of death metal and other metal genres in the music, but it can be clearly categorized as black metal. One thing that sticks out is the clearly audible bass. Personally I think this is a great demo and recommendable to all old school maniacs and Greek metal connoisseurs.

From Depths - The Burning Ice (1995)

From Depths - The Burning Ice 12"MLP 1995
1) Intro
2) Silence of Victory
3) Shelter of the Dark
4) Outro

Reuploaded

More Italian black metal for this week, now a vinyl for change, even though it is a cassette rip. This is the first EP, or MLP, of the Italian black metal band From Depths and it was released in 1000 copies by a never-heard label in 1995. Seems to be quite uncommon item. I got my dub from a Polish tape trader and don't know how many generation it might be, but the sound is ok. The intro has minor blemish but it's really nothing. I was more annoyed by the way the outro starts seamlessly and overlapping the end of the 3rd song "Shelter of the Dark". However, I still chose to divide them into two separate tracks as they were so listed (well, since I only have a cassette dub I can't really be sure).

I guess something more than it's black metal and from Italy ought to be mentioned of the music. Well, it takes quite a lot of influence from the Norwegian (and Nordic) black metal bands, is melodic but still satisfyingly raw and has synth. Very little resemblence to other better known Italians this time. I'm enjoying it and am considering to rip & upload their 1997 album as well (which was also released in mere 1000 copies and by another obscure label). The band has (like so many others) restarted their activities so check out their MySpace. I'm also interested to hear the two tapes the band released prior to this 12" so let me know if you have them or find a link!

De Occulta Philosophia - Obscura Simphonia

De Occulta Philosophia - Obscura Simphonia demo 1995
1) Seventh Poseidon's Siren
2) Shadows Dancer in the Night of Plenilune
3) Marsh of Agony
4) Mortiferous
5) Frosty Breath Rides Under Mystic Moon (of Midnight)

Reuploaded

Italian symphonic black metal influenced by (in their own words) Cradle Of Filth plus Slayer and Rotting Christ might sound more controversial than nsbm in today's standards but do not worry, it is actually quite listenable and even while the main influence is old COF I'd say second comparison would be the fellow Italians they greet on the covers; Necromass, Opera IX, Mortuary Drape & Vladimir. Especially the two in the middle are an influence I welcome heartily. This is as far as I know the only release by this band.

My copy was dubbed (from an original I guess) for me by one of my traders, but it has a very good and clear sound. I have a xerox of the cover which I decided not to scan as M.A. had a decent scan of it so that's enclosed. Recommended if you enjoy old Cradle of Filth, Italian black metal or symphonic/melodic bm in general.

Absent Silence - Demo I 1995

Absent Silence - Demo I 1995
1) By My Own Hand
2) Matkani Yllä Muiden
3) The Trees & Ravens

Reuploaded

I've seemed to make it a nasty habit to post first a band's second demo and then the first one. But I just recently found the tape this one was recorded on so that ought to be a pretty good excuse. If you are familiar with the demo II I posted earlier you know what to expect from Absent Silence's debut recording, though this one is much rougher and blacker than the later ones. The vocals here are the same whispering sort as on demo II which I think is cool.

My copy of the demo is a dub received from some trader contact of old so this reflects a little on the sound but fear not, it's not overtly necro or whatever. I'm hungry so I'll finish typing and start frying, download this if you like Absent Silence, Finnish dark/black metal, collect religiously demos etc.

Satariel - Hellfuck demo 1995

Satariel - Hellfuck demo II 1995
1) Four Moons Till Rising
2) Hellfuck
3) Violent Dance
4) Yet to Be
5) Into the Void...

Reuploaded

Like was the case with these guys' other band Belsemar, I start with the second demo. Swedish Satariel plays on their albums melodic death metal, with the distinct Swedish sound & feeling. Or at least on those albums I've heard. Anyways, on their demo days they were still black metal, though not as purely as Belsemar was. Besides songwriting, another difference is the vocals, done here by two vocalists of which the other one does a decent black metal snarl while the "support" vocal is a death metallish roar. Actually reminds me of Impaled Nazarene debut, though the music is very far from that. The band's turn to melodeath is quite clearly foreshadowed on these tracks. Some clean vocals are scattered here and there and the 5th song is kind of an outro with female voice joining the clean male singing.

This is not my cassette rip, I've acquired this from a trader at a later date burned on a CDR which I then ripped. The rip quality is good and so is the sound of the demo itself. Naturally I don't have the tape cover either so Metal Archives image is used. Good stuff even if I prefer Belsemar, recommendable for both black metal people and Swedish melodeath fans.

Sacrilegeous - I.O.T. 666th K (1995)

Sacrilegeous - I.O.T. 666th K demo 1995
1) Strange Objects in the Nocturnal Horizon
2) Mystery of the Intermediary Life
3) Fullmoon Over Darkened Seascape
4) ...About Silence
5) I.O.T. 666th K

Reuploaded

Sacrilegeous is a name probably not very familiar to people who didn't follow the Finnish UG scene in the early mid-90's closely. More often mentioned in various 'zines than actually heard by people, Sacrilegeous was involved in various antics and apparently aligned with Azazel, I.C.F.D. & co in the so-called conflict that was almost going on circa 1994/1995. But let's not forget the music, that's why we're here right? Sacrilegeous released a bunch of tapes and a CDEP of which best known ones are listed here on their M.A. entry. This doesn't seem to be one of them.

I got this one from a trader contact in 1997 I think and it is quite unusual recording. If you have heard Sacrilegeous' CDEP "Nordic Landscapes of Hessdalen" you might know what to expect. It is music influenced and based on raw black metal but with an unique take on it. I'm having hard time describing it accurately. If you became curious go ahead and download it.

Lord Of Pagathorn - The Chaos Spirit Among Us promo - demo 94

Lord Of Pagathorn - The Chaos Spirit Among Us promo-demo 1994
1) The Chaos Spirit Among Us I
2) The Chaos Spirit Among Us II
3) The Chaos Spirit Among Us III

Reuploaded!

This is among the true "cult" demos uploaded onto this site, the so-far sole official release of the Northern heroes Lord Of Pagathorn. Ever evasive of publicity, they gave very few interviews to (mostly) Finnish fanzines and sort of vanished from the scene, to the dismay of the ones who had heard this excellent demo. You might be justly wondering why I didn't upload this sooner, well simply because I had separated the demo cover from the tape and it took me some effort to find! Dumb old piece of s***t.

Definitely recommended, easily among the best blackened metal demos spawned by Finland! Notice that all the three songs are untitled but as due personal preference I named them "The Chaos Spirit Among Us I - III" instead of I - III, but feel free to adjust! Oh yeah I forgot to mention that they're active again and hopefully will be releasing something sooner or later.

Beherit - Live at Metal Passion III 09.06.1990

Beherit - Live at Metal Passion III, Rovaniemi 9th June 1990
1) The Oath Of Black Blood
2) Demonomancy
3) Satanas (Sarcófago cover)
4) Grave Desecration
5) Morbid Gods
6) Nightmare (Sarcófago cover)
7) Goat Worship
8) Witchcraft

Reuploaded

I noticed I haven't posted that many lives recently so I decided to make up for it now. Beherit should not really need introductions, unless you stumbed here by accident in which case return to Google right now. This was a bit obscure live, I received it titled "Live Metal Passion III R.O.I. 1993" from one of my tape trading chums but this is obviously (partially) bull excrement, looking at the setlist and researching a little it was revealed to be Rovaniemi, 9.6.1990 gig.

I have to warn you before you cream your pants that this is a flawed thing, the cassette I ripped suffers from crappy dub for the first two songs or so with the sound wavering and twisting like a snake on speed. Those of you old enough to have actual experience with audio tapes know what I mean. Luckily it gets better and the rest is ok. If there is a better quality rip of this gig (audio or the bootleg DVD) please give me a link! Not a bad live sound and they don't screw up much so it's recommendable to all old school retards, Beherit fanatics and other connoisseurs of classical music & arts.

At The Gates - Live in Macon, France 16.04.1996

At The Gates - Live in Macon, France 16th April 1996
1) Blinded By Fear
2) Slaughter Of The Soul
3) Terminal Spirit Disease
4) Cold
5) The Swarm
6) Under A Serpent Sun
7) Suicide Nation
8) Kingdom Gone
9) Need

Depositfiles

Another At The Gates live tape from 1996, slightly longer one this time. Setlist is pretty much the same as the other one I posted, with "Kingdom Gone" added here. Sound quality is ok, the tape had a glitch or two but I don't think anything serious. Most written on the previous At The Gates entry applies here, though I'm a little bit annoyed by some of the speeches he makes - especially the populistic little number done after "The Swarm" makes my inner Euronymous frown. Oh well, it's not supposed to be grim and evil so I'll manage. If you do also, go ahead and download this.

Pohakka - Rehearsal 13.2.1997

Pohakka - Rehearsal 13th February 1997
1) Untitled

Reuploaded

A rehearsal tape with only one untitled song might not sound like an impressive post. Who cares, if you've heard Pohakka's only release, the one-song demo "Minä kävelen vetten päällä..." (which, by the way, translates roughly "I walk above waters...") you know what to expect. Except that this is instrumental. And much rougher than the demo. Still, it's 14 minutes and 18 seconds of slow and gloomy music, as depressive as the demo was but obviously harder to swallow. You have been warned, now ignore the text and download.

Morningstar - Rehearsal 11/1991

Morningstar - Rehearsal November 1991
1) The Curse
2) Pierce His Eyes
3) (War) Legend - Incomplete

Reuploaded

And this is the other rehearsal I mentioned in the previous post. Very old one, recorded before their debut demo. However, the material might be familiar as the first two songs were included on the 2005 limited edition LP release of the "Inside The Circle Of Pentagram" demo and the second one was re-recorded for "Heretic Metal" and the third track, here an incomplete version, was on "Rivendell." I decided to upload this anyways as I don't think too many have the LP which anyways omits the last song. Not a major thing though, as it's incomplete, lasting only 1:15 or so. Don't look at me, that's how I got it from Honkonen.

I enjoy this little rehearsal tape more than I should, the sound is very audible for such an old recording and the musicianship is... enthusiastic. That's probably why it's so much fun. For old school metal heads, Morningstar fans, collectors of obscure recordings and so on.

Morningstar - Rehearsal Autumn 1993

Morningstar - Rehearsal Autumn 1993
1) Burning the Crucifix
2) Pagan Martyrs
3) The Plague (Brought by Christians)

Reuploaded

I ripped this Morningstar rehearsal and another one already... well, it was a pretty long time ago, whenever it was. So why not post them you ask? Because it wasn't until recently that I finally found Ari "Sinister Satyr" Honkonen's letter which had the track listings for these items on it. So, this is a rehearsal tape recorded in autumn 1993 and contains three tracks, one of which would be on the 2nd Morningstar album, other one on their MCD and the last one appears to be unreleased... unless he changed the name.

Pretty good (but of course rough) rehearsal sound and the music is still the quirky black metal old Morningstar is known for. I personally enjoy this, especially the 2nd track. Recommended if you enjoyed the other Morninstar posts and their early releases!

Depressive Silence - Demo III 1996

Depressive Silence - Demo III 1996
1) Forest of Eternity
2) Depths of the Oceans
3) Atmosphere
4) Mourning
5) Dreams

Removed, it has been re-released, vinyl for now and CD later - here!
Also Bandcamp!

See the previous post for most info, here I will just mention that personally I find this demo better than the previous one, even though there are no electric guitars or vocals present. The M.A. image above was slightly altered. I hope to update this to include the cover scans in the near future, as mentioned in the previous post.

UPDATE: I found the covers for this & demo II long ago but I've simply forgotten to update this, oops! Sorry about that. Can't be arsed to repack & up the whole shit so I just added a Mediafire link for the cover scan. - Megaupload gone so new upload with cover to Mediafire! - Mediafire backstabbed me so now it's Narod.
- No download link anymore as it's been re-released on vinyl for all you elite collectors and audio wankers and will also be released on CD for us practical people. See Unborn Productions or their distributors, a link is provided above.

Depressive Silence - The Darkened Empires

Depressive Silence - The Darkened Empires demo II 1996
1) In Death's Sleep
2) To Die In Your Dreams
3) Black Visions
4) Journey To My Realms

Depositfiles

Hollow Myths

This and the next one are requested by comrade Xexanoth, so thank him for getting me to dig these up.

More dark ambiance and again it is RAL of Mightiest, teaming up with B.S. and they deliver with Depressive Silence music that reminds me of early Die Verbannten Kinder Evas which is never a bad thing. This is their 2nd demo and I'm pretty sure it was released in early 1996 instead of 1995 as listed on Metal Archives, but then again M.A. describes them as atmospheric dark metal and that's utter horse manure. Sure, it's atmospheric and dark but metal? Hell no, even though this release does feature some distorted guitar on "Black Visions" and occasional vocals it is still pretty far from metal. Mostly good sound, there is some unfortunate tape wear audible on the first track but other than that it's ok.

This is a little frustrating post for me as I don't seem to find the tape covers, for some unknown reason they're not with the cassette in the case as they should be. I know I saw them among some old papers not too long ago but they skillfully evade me. This, obviously, means no cover scans enclosed, sorry. Have to settle with the M.A. image for now. I intend to find 'em and scan 'em and then repack and upload these tapes so for now only one link. However, this is recommendable stuff for all who enjoy these keyboard-projects, one of the better ones. And don't forget to check out this post.

UPDATE: I found the covers for this & demo III long ago but I've simply forgotten to update this, oops! Sorry about that. Can't be arsed to repack & up the whole shit so I just added a Mediafire link for the cover scan. - UPDATE II: Mediafire link has cover in it now. UPDATE III: F*ck Mediafire, Depositfiles link now, with the cover.

UPDATE (IV): Hollow Myths has re-released this demo too on CD, as of writing (late Feb'17) it is out of stock but should return shortly. Have a look, link added up there below download.

Leviatan - Letanias del Infierno demo 1995

Leviatan - Letanias del Infierno demo 1995
1) Intro: Dark Side
2) Ciervo Negro
3) Destello Eterno
4) Letanias del Infierno
5) Rituales
6) Outro: Obscurity

Reuploaded

This is for comrade F.U.C.K.C.O.L who contributes to RAF666underground. Enjoy, brother.

Obviously it is here up for grabs for anyone who might be interested in some raw & crude, ugly & old school real Colombian black metal. I got this in late 1995 from one of my tape trader friends and to speak the truth I wasn't very much into it. Later I learned to appreciate it's primitive, occult charm. The sound is quite good despite the tape's age, a certain hissing is present but it's not bad. As for the recording itself, it has clear rehearsal-like sound, entirely passable for a black metal demo. This isn't one of my more literate days so I'll quit typing here, take it or leave it.

Puissance - Krig demo 1995

Puissance - Krig demo 1995
1) All form av död
2) Krig
3) Döden i all enkelhet


Reuploaded

Again a different direction, this time I've uploaded the 1995 demo of the Swedish martial neoclassical / industrial legends Puissance, whose members are also familiar (to some) from the black metal bands Octinomos, Parnassus, Worshipper, Dismal and Algaion, the musically and lyrically similar project Arditi as well as contributions of several intros and outros to various artists and compilations. I don't remember which of the 1995 demos was recorded and/or released first, but the cover states this one being created in 1993/1994 and considering the content I'd say this is demo I.

Ripped by yours truly from an original tape this is by sound quality an easy listen - provided you enjoy the type of music presented, obviously! The three tracks here are all quite long and bleak, more minimalistic in impression than later Puissance material. Do not expect vocals or samples or other breaks either. Dark, industrial ambiances.