Stregoica #4

Stregoica 'zine, issue 4 (1993)
Interviews:
Apator
Denial Of God
Mortuary Drape
Malefic Oath (The Unsane)
The Black
Necromantia
Barathrum
Hordes (Hammerheart)
Lullaby
Perdition Hearse
Choronzon (hol)
Twilight / Cthonium
Rotting Christ
Helfrost
Crucifier
Monumentum
Alastis
Inverted Pentagram
Demonic Christ
Emperor
Ancestral Goetia
Entrapment
Moonspell
Varathron
Immortal
Zemial
Thou Art Lord
Mütiilation
Grand Belial's Key
+ articles "The Voivod of Valachia part I" and "In the Track of the Bloody Countess part I"
+ band bios/articles (Lemegethon, Archgoat, Master's Hammer, Carpathian Forest etc...)
+ news & reviews

Depositfiles

I presume due the holiday season most people have more time on their hands than usual so it might be a perfect timing for posting another 'zine and this is quite a huge one, a grand grimoire of black metal so to say, the 4th issue of the French classic Stregoica. Made by the four man editorial team this issue has a hundred pages, if you count the covers, which should be more than enough for one sitting. Not sure of the exact release date, but it was in 1993 and probably in the autumn as the news section mentions DMDS being delayed by Euronymous's death which then is not further mentioned in the issue. The covers are printed on (thicker) red paper, the rest good old b/w. See below for a full image of the front and back cover collage.

This is one of my favourite 'zines. The band roster is varied enough while remaining still in the black metal field and in the bands, instead of this and that 1-3 issue 'zine editor or small fry distro. This is the approach I prefer my black metal 'zines to take. I guess this might then make the 'zine boring to some other readers differently oriented. There are non-musical articles about Vlad Tepes and Erzsébet Báthory, which are surprisignly well-written for 'zine articles and a better read than you'd expect despite being probably the most common subjects for these sort of texts in these kinds of publications. There is also a short article "Vox Tenebrarum" by Albertus Jiménez, whose name some of you might recognize, which is ok but brief, shallow and feels like an introduction or sample. Those of you who have not done so yet might want to check out the previous Stregoica issue here for a more (well, basically 90%) death metal oriented 'zine. I suppose you could read half of the 3rd and half of this issue if you want to have a balanced diet of death and black. Like that issue, this is a nostalgic read but for a bit different crowd this time. I also like the way the staff are not just doing the obvious names on the North/South directions (well, they do feature a couple of extremely obvious picks from both) but also focus on the often neglected Dutch scene as well which was quite lively in the early 90's. Reading this also reminds me of a ton of 'zines and demos I need to find which is a really mixed blessing. Recommended reading!