Imhotep #4

Imhotep magazine, issue 4 (1998)
Interviews:
Ablaze My Sorrow
Vulpecula
Dark Funeral
Dark Tranquillity
Deinonychus
Emperor (compiled from various sources)
Funeral Oration
Gehenna
Limbonic Art
Lux Occulta
Proscriptor / Absu
Puissance
Russ Smith
The Great Kat
Therion
Warhammer
Withering Surface
+ reviews and a bit more

Reuploaded - 2022

New year, same old hangover. Today's item is another 'zine... pardon, a magazine, from Norway. Looks cool, is fancy but I don't really like it. I like even less the later commercial glossy incarnations. Some cool artists obviously and a posh pro look, but something is still missing or rather it has more to do with how fed up I was/am with the late 90's 'zine editors' attitude. It's just plain annoying to read much of the time. But feel free to decide for yourself. There's quite a lot to read so it'll certainly help you pass the time. I'll just crawl back into my cave for now. 

 

 

The Black League - Demo 1998

The Black League - (Unreleased?) Demo 1998
1) Avalon
2) Winter Winds Sing
3) Sanguinary Blues

RGhost / Mediafire

Ok let's do something a little different for today. Some readers probably listened to Sentenced and remember their old vocalist Taneli Jarva who was also involved in a bunch of other bands and projects? Well, this is one of them and still active. Or not, last album is from 2009. Anyway, today's item is their, according to Metal Archives, unreleased 1998 demo which I got a dub of from one of my traders. This and the other early releases also feature Sir Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene and Legenda fame on drums. I suppose it has no cover art if it is actually unreleased so see above an extremely primitive placeholder image. Pretty good dub and it has quite a good sound quality as well so no need to worry about that. As long as you remember this is a demo recording, that is!

Apparently this version of "Avalon" was released on Spinefarm's compilation CDs "Spinetingler" and "Helldorado II" so there is a slight likelyhood you've heard that one. It and the second tune "Winter Winds Sing" appear also on the debut album "Ichor" which I've last heard about ten years ago so I don't remember if the sound is hugely different. Most likely cleaner and all that. These tracks are of a rocking, groovy sort of heavy metal with touches of stoner on the first one and noticeable blues vibe on the slower, second number. The third song "Sanguinary Blues" is, as name reveals, pretty much bluesy death rock, surprisingly upbeat though. But as I don't obviously know what I'm babbling about I'll leave this at that and recommend you to try it if you're a fan of old Sentenced, Jarva and/or TBL or just got curious by my vague decription.

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!

Alioth - Channeling Unclean Spirits demo 2002

Alioth - Channeling Unclean Spirits demo #1 2002 - 2007 re-release
1) Intro / The Channeling
2) Invocation / Apocryphal Dimensions
3) Invocation II / Call of the Deep

Depositfiles

Every now and then I make exceptions to the blog's generic line of posting (mainly) 90's material and today's post is one of them in more than one sense, this is the 2007 cassette re-released version of US Alioth, a side project by a Cult of Daath member Wargoat Obscurum originally recorded in 2002. The original version was apparently released in 2003. Why am I posting this? Because I like it and feel it fits well enough to the Coven. A cover scan is included as it's ripped from an original tape.

The tape has three songs with short intros to each for a bit over 15 minutes and the music is atmospheric and doomy death metal strongly reminiscent of old Greek style à la Varathron and early 90's Rotting Christ. Mostly midtempo pace, melodic but not too mellow. Vocals are deathly growls and grunts, sound good demo level and everything simply works for me. I had something more in my mind but I'm in need of a nap so I'll just leave this here and recommend you to take a listen, especially if you're into the old Greek sound.

Väri Avaruudesta - Avain demo 1999

Väri Avaruudesta - Avain demo 1999
1) Avain
2) Miikael kuolleen poika
3) Kuningas herää
4) Suo
5) Hauta
6) Enttein syksy
7) Laivat
8) Kehäloitsu

Depositfiles / Rusfolder

Today's item is a request I've decided to grant and another Finnish item, the quite limited (66 copies) demo by Väri Avaruudesta (The Colour Out Of Space - Lovecraft reference obviously) released on CDr and ripped from a copy bought from Pakana distro back then if I remember correctly. I hadn't done this before as I was under the impression it could be found quite easily online, but a recent inspection showed otherwise. Cover scans enclosed.

As it's ripped from an CDr the quality is good. Music is raw black metal with an underground demo production, with fuzzy guitars buzzing away over rather subdued battery, accompanied by harsh, raspy vocals and some reasonable doses of synths and effects which give a neat touch to the demo. It's not really anything that original but has certainly some bewitching charm on placed on it as it seems more than the sum of its parts. Part of the appeal probably comes from the unusual lyrics (most are included, in Finnish for your maximum inconvenience I'm afraid) and the timpani-like support percussion which always gives me Master's Hammer flashbacks and makes reason and common sense fade. As you see there are eight tracks and though the first is an intro it's almost album length at ~34 minutes. The demo seems to consist of two recordings as the sound changes quite a bit after "Suo", becoming murkier especially in the vocals department. Incidentally these tracks around the middle point are slower ones, combining with the sound change to create a certain tempo loss. The pace picks up in the following track and the slower "Laivat" is another standout track in the later part. Interesting demo with an obscure atmosphere, or alternatively yet another unoriginal one-man lo-fi black metal project. Have a listen and pick your side.

Sacrilegeous Excrement - Demo 1/93

Sacrilegeous Excrement - Demo 1/93
1) SSSSK (The Unpleasant Smell of Green Cranial Amoeba Slime)
2) Putrefaction (of Souls)
3) Dissection of Cornea
4) The Dimension Called "Hell"
5) Reversing Diffusion pt.II

Mediafire / RGhost

I guess you are now expecting something horrible and vile sounding. Well, this contribution by brother Suuret Muinaiset - thank you again - comes close even if it's not quite as foul as I might have promised. This is the 1993 demo by Sacrilegeous Excrement which evolved/changed name to Sacrilegeous, familiar already to some readers of the blog. Covers included and they're again something to look at. Note that SM called this just demo 1/93 but the cover would appear to have an additional title but it's pretty hard to make out what it is supposed to be... "Dissection of Incoherent Universes" is my current best guess. I would love to read your suggestions!

To the music: it's just as weird ass stuff you'd expect if you've heard master Necrodesecrator's later work. Which I feel I must upload more soon, it just needs to be shared. The sound is crude and unrefined, rehearsal-like yet very clear. Practically same as on the Sacrilegeous demos to be honest. The music is a rather bizarre, crude, raw and somehow alien-feeling mixture of death metal, black metal touches and experimental, possibly partially accidental, songwriting. It can't be called good or catchy yet it has strange appeal. Perhaps I'm totally losing it, perhaps I am nearing enlightenment. You should probably experience it for yourself. Cautiously recommended.

Rise And Shine / Gehennah - Split 7"EP 1998

Rise And Shine / Gehennah - Rise And Shine And Gehennah split 7"EP 1998
Rise And Shine:
1) Deadringer (For Love)
Gehennah:
2) Jackson

RGhost / Yandex

Let's do something different for today. This is still marginally metal but very different anyways, a split EP featuring two Swedish bands is no news to anyone but when the concept is covers of classic (or "classic") duets things get interesting. Or at least untypical. Here we have Gehennah, known for their alcohol-fueled Venom-worshipping proto-black/thrash/hardrock and Rise And Shine, possibly much less known band playing psychedelic traditonal doom metal/rock on their proper releases. Or so I am told. On this EP, however, they do covers with vocalists dueting and if I've understood, the bands playing each their own bit. R&S do Meat Loaf's "Dead Ringer for Love" from his 3rd album (1981) which was performed as a duet with Cher and you've probably heard it even if you don't realise it. At least if you're a grown up. Gehennah go crazy with a country classic which has been recorded probably around million times, including at least one version in Finnish, "Jackson" - best known from the two 1967 recordings, a more pop version by Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra (which they apparently referenced here) and Johnny Cash & June Carter country version you haven't managed to avoid no matter where you have been hiding. Note that I ripped this from a cassette dub on a whim, not vinyl! Cover image from Discogs, and probably the most colourful thing I've had on this blog.

The sound is quite unpolished but clear enough and fits with the bands involved and goes actually surprisingly well with the tracks themselves. Like mentioned both tracks feature Mr Violence and Josabeth Leidi dueting and to be honest, neither is exactly my favourite or ideal vocalist. But at least the outcome is personal. Gehennah's side sound a little more muddled than Rise And Shine and that's all I'm going to comment as I can't stand that song in any of the versions I've heard. Ok, not much more to say except have a listen if you want something different. Next post will be either a 'zine or something horrible and vile sounding.

Everlasting Reign - Obscuritatis Terram Dominat demo 1996

Everlasting Reign - Obscuritatis Terram Dominat demo 1996
1) Intro - Something to Follow
2) Chaotic Eclipse
3) Inner Eternity
4) Doors of Perception
5) No Sense
6) Symphony of Agony

Mediafire / Rusfolder

More death metal music follows, this one representing a subgenre not very often seen in the Coven's vaults: melodic death metal. This is the apparently only demo by the Italian band Everlasting Reign which, according to Metal Archives entry, featured two young men Francisco and Cesar Zavattari - my educated guess is that they're brothers - who later would form a thrash band called Aghast Insane with a couple of other fellows. No, I haven't heard that one either. I got this dub from one of my traders basically on a whim, the demo title was pretty cool, but wasn't too wild of it to be honest. He didn't send me covers and there don't seem to be any around the internet so unless someone contributes we have no decoration for this post.

Like I already mentioned this is melodic death metal. Think certain 90's Gothenburg bands, or old Children of Bodom and such, but played by two young guys with a drum machine. Yeah. The sound isn't bad and they got some pretty good bits and whatever but this isn't my chalice of poison. So I'm not going to spend any more time making vague comparisons, give it a listen if you're really curious, morbidly obsessive about melodeath or absolutely must hear every obscure 90's metal demo.

Thus Defiled - Enchanted by the Dark One demo 1993

Thus Defiled - Enchanted by the Dark One demo II 1993
1) Enchanted by the Dark One
2) Eternal Demonomancy
3) Primordial Darkness (Returning...)

Depositfiles

Today's upload completes another cycle and is again a reader contribution, sent along with a bunch of other items by comrade Ruptured Souls, this is the second demo by UK black/death group Thus Defiled. You may find the first demo here and a bit later rehearsal tape here. I don't know who made this rip originally, it might be quite old, however the quality is decent enough so thanks to whoever it was. No cover scans were included so I've again sto - borrowed images from Discogs, these are included in the folder.

This tape looks quite professional if one would judge a book by its cover and printed cassette and I do seem to recall this being called a cassette EP somewhere. Of course I don't have a reference at hand so I'm not going to champion that argument and just call it a demo like everyone else does. The sound is quite comparable to the debut demo, a little more clear and less echo-y. Unfortunately it also sounds less dark as a result, more death than black or black/death metal this time. There's just about the same amount of metal as on the first effort (a bit over ten minutes spread over three tracks) but less evenly divided as the title track hogs over half of the duration and side A of the tape, supporting the EP feeling I get from this. Despite the title track's extra length, all three follow the same basic patterns of slower, heavy and doomy parts alternating with fast, grinding aggressive sections. Vocals are guttural and brutal growls. I feel like I don't have really much more to say about this now, check it out if you like death metal and/or black/death metal, enjoy the other Thus Defiled stuff or happen to collect UK demos.

SS 2666 - Promo 1997

SS 2666 - Promo 1997
1) Bloody Charriots
2) Holocaust Thunder

Yandex / RGhost

Let's do a quickie today and also something different. And obscure, you see, this short two track promo tape was sent to me by one of my tape traders in the 90's and the only info he had was that it was promo 1997 and featured personnel from Prophecy (pol), Hermh and possibly some other band which I now forget... though the Discogs entry to a compilation CD "Brum numer 50" featuring the first track here credits only two people, Bartłomiej "Bart" Krysiuk for lyrics and Szymon Czech for music while Christ Agony website's bio mentions Marek Kutnik also as a member. And that's pretty much all I've got... until I asked Bart who supplied me with tracklisting and told me they had been preparing for a full length album which was never finished and this tape didn't have any covers or such. Apparently they've also recorded something in 2005 also and Witching Hour might release the SS 2666 material as a 7"EP.

Until that happens we're stuck with my rip here which is ok quality, unfortunately the tape seems a little worn in places and you can hear the results occasionally. The first track can be found in better quality as it was released on the compilation CD I mentioned and the possibly upcoming Witching Hour release will be remastered, Szymon had done that before his death. I guess a few words about what this sounds like might be necessary? It's a mixture of industrial/electronic metal with electronic and industrial beats, metal guitars, mostly harsh vocals, samples and so on. The sound would be good if not for the lacking dub quality. As a quick reference I'd say it's more ...And Oceans than Diabolicum. If these genres and their combinations interest you, it might be a good idea to check this out. Or if you're into the related bands. Not probably for everyone reading this blog.

Abygor - The Faces of Pentagram demo 1991

Abygor - The Faces of Pentagram demo 1991/1992
1) Son of Dawn
2) The Faces of Pentagram
3) Snaking the Sky
4) Lilith

RGhost / Yandex

More black metal follows and this is South American material for change, Abygor from Brazil with their only demo under this monicker. Ripped from a dub I was sent by brother A.S., thank you for the tape and cover! Which means a cover scan is also included. Quite good rip quality if I say so myself and sound isn't bad at all either. Note that the covers do not give any info about when this was recorded, I was told it was 1991 but M.A., which as we know is sadly far from reliable, gives May 1992. Anyone able to verify?

A few words about the music: it's fucking awesome! This was really quite a surprise and I really like coming across (or guided to, like in this case) obscure old and great demos like this! It's not of the thrashing or bestial warlike school you might expect from a South American horde, rather this is atmospheric and mysterious, with an old school aura similar to demos of Black Crucifixion, Darkstyle, Fiendish Nymph, Lemegethon or even select Beherit material. Guitars move mostly on a quite brisk midpace, riffs are quite simple but evocative and vocals whispering, remaining in the shadows but still audible enough. I really enjoy this and would love to hear the stuff of the previous incarnations Bestial and Lamentation so let me know if you got those recordings! Recommeded.

Myrddraal - Promo 2001

Myrddraal - Promo 2001
1) Moonhunter
2) Strings of Inquietude
3) Muspellheim

Yandex / Mediafire

Black metal from Australia today, a 2001 promo by Myrddraal contributed to me a little while ago. This recording was made after the debut album "Blood on the Mountain" and in very limited amount, ten copies or so, given to labels and to demostrate their capabilities to Denny Blake (StarGazer) in order to enlist him to play drums for the next album. Quite rare thing for a while, though not anymore as it's also included on the "Surrounded by Unlight" compilation released by Abysmal Sounds this year. See below for a flyer. I don't usually post items that have been re-released but this may be counted as an exception, or promotion or whatever you wish to call it.

To the content. If you are familiar with the band's first album you'll remember it lay somewhere between the ferocity their landmates were often known for and melodic, even epic passages. These three songs continue where they left off on the album, they're quite long, totalling almost 24 minutes and start off with an intro that reminds me of the outro on the album, samples and noises giving way to acoustics. The sound is murkier and darker, partially probably due the drums (machine I believe as they were recruiting a drummer) being pushed into the background and bass taking more room. "Moonhunter" features several acoustic breaks as well as an almost operatic slightly bizarre part which still barely manages to work. Plenty of going on for its eleven minute duration. Second track is shorter and more intense, especially with the dual voices utilized and nice, cracklingly crispy guitars. The vocal parts remind me a bit of Diamatregon which is a good thing in my book. Third track "Muspellheim" starts catchy and is again a long one at almost nine minutes. It maintains a sense of urgency intermingled with certain melodicism reminding me of old Gorgoroth/"Transilvanian Hunger"-Darkthrone before bursting into a clean vocals section that's almost (later day) Therion and then resuming like nothing happened. Pretty cool stunt! I think I really need to take a listen to the compilation after this promo and then the second album which I honestly have completely forgotten how it sounds like. You can start with this and follow my lead if you wish.

Cain - Child of Cold (1999)

Cain - Child of Cold cassette album 1999
1) Intro (The Rebirth)
2) Return with the Victory
3) Nibelung's Damnation
4) Child of Cold
5) Night Before the Execution
6) Barbaric Ritual
7) Outro (Cain)

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Non-metal material, an item sent by Eugene who runs a Russian dungeon synth VK page, thanks for the contribution! This is Cain, also from Russia, and this 1999 demo which could actually pass well for a cassette album. Seven tracks of which two are an intro and outro for a bit over 43 minutes and printed colour covers with barcodes and all. But since my contributor refers to this as a demo I'll take his word. Cover scans are included. UPDATE: Confirmed as a tape album!

So, do the sounds match the (semi-)pro looks? To a degree, yes. Personally I prefer underground keyboard music like dungeon synth to have a not too polished, sort of out-dated sound and this one does rather well in that department. Excellent, cheesy and casio-like sounds abound! Think of Varg's prison albums. Like Eugene says, this might not be 100% pure dungeon synth, parts of it are more "wintry" atmospheres while some are in almost martial vein like "Return with the Victory", mostly due the percussion. Thankfully there are no vocals to mar the experience, I really prefer my ds instrumental or with very, very sparingly used voices. The easiest name to drop here is, like I actually already did, Burzum circa "Dauði/ Hliðskjálf" which I grew to love from initial dislike/-belief. Like those albums, this starts to sound better after a few listens. Only real complaints are the very brief but still distinct enough mobile phone disturbance on track 5 and track 6 dragging on for a touch too long. Worth checking out if you're into the genre and/or enjoy the synth Burzum.

Putrefied Compilation Tape (1993)

Various Artists - Putrefied Compilation tape (1993)
1) Beyond Dawn - The Underworld / The Mourner
2) Solemn - Beautiful Surroundings
3) Organic Infest - Lust for Flesh
4) Absolution - In Eternal Service
5) Pleuritic - Endless Pleuritic
6) Cradle of Filth - The Raping of Faith
7) Impaled Nazarene - Condemned to Hell
8) Chapel of Rest - Intro / World Graveyard
9) Iconoclast - Apocryphal Sleep Gethsemane
10) Son of Dog - Crucify the Demi-Gorgon
11) Burial - Intro / Impending Writ of the Last Rites
12) Morbid Symphony - Evil Cares for Its Own
13) Cradle of Filth - As Deep as Any Burial / Franternally Yours, 666 (Outro)

Mediafire / Depositfiles

Another contribution today and a compilation tape which haven't been really too plentiful here I think. This was sent again by comrade Ruptured Souls (thank you) and I don't really have that much background info on it, expect that it's from (probably early) 1993, from the UK and features almost an hour of various sorts of death metal by a dozen different bands, most like Solemn, Burial or the rather well-known Cradle of Filth hailing also from the United Kingdom and the rest mostly European, from the Italian Iconoclast to Finland's Pleuritic and ImpNaz, the exceptions being Puerto Rican Organic Infest and US Son of Dog. Well, that's quite international already. I don't recall where RS had dug this up, but thanks to the original uploader. Alas, not much of a cover scan for this but an image is better than nothing. See an edited version above.

I'm not going to go in depth analysis with each track here, considering these are almost all originally demo material the sound quality is decent if a bit uneven, the rip is quite good with a little wear audible but that merely adds character, no? I said earlier this features death metal and that is really most accurate catch-all description here. Some lean a bit towards death/doom while others sound significantly more blackened. Should be a quite interesting listen if you enjoy old compilations and/or death metal.

Near Dark #4 / Goetia #3

Near Dark, issue 4 / Goetia, issue 3 split-magazine (1996)
Interviews - Near Dark:
Bathory
Opeth
The Darksend
Mefisto
Headbangers Against Disco
A Mind Confused
Lake of Tears
Ungod
+ reviews and "Bizarre" page of film reviews
Interviews - Goetia:
Pentacle
Bifrost
Revelation
Therion
Temperance
The Marble Icon
The Moaning
Evoken
Misanthropy Records
Tomas Nyqvist (Putrefaction 'zine / No Fashion recs)
+ reviews

Reuploaded

It is time to do some contributions again and also about time to post a 'zine. This one was sent to me by comrade Kurgan, thank you for your offer to the Coven and is quite a rare sight, a split 'zine! Featured are the fourth effort of Near Dark, also the only one I've seen and probably will and the third Goetia, you might remember that one from this post. The split totals 52 pages, if you count the covers, and features some waste of space on the ND side with full-page flyers and distrolist, Goetia side is similar to previous issue so efficient use of space and more content for the allocated page count. Overall, like with split albums both sides end up a bit short of a "full" fanzine.

Like already said, this is my first touch with Near Dark 'zine and I'm not very much into their side here. With the exception of German Ungod their pick of interviewees is all Swedish, which in itself is not necessarily very bad and I haven't actually seen these names that often in the 'zines I've been reading. Well, except for Bathory, whom I could never see enough even though the inties from the same era tend to be a little repetitive and Opeth whom I have seen often enough both in print and stage. Ironically the only foreigner featured here falls also into read 'em a hundred times category but at least the Ungod inties tend to be decent reads. The overall style of the ND editors is humorous, which doesn't really work for me in most 'zines, and embracing the hard-drinkin' hard-rockin' metalhead type which also is annoying, being sort of a semi-trend in Sverige back then. Makes us serious devil-worshipping monks frown in our dimly lit reading chambers. It isn't a black metal 'zine so I have to cut them slack I guess.

Goetia side pleases me more, especially since Niclas uses the same, cozy, familiar and safe lay-out. Better organized this time, I must mention, no more interviews continued at random parts of the 'zine. My only gripe is his growingly hostile approach to black metal and complete lack of such interviewees. Oh well, at least his picks, mostly in death, doom and death/doom genres are rather interesting. Misanthropy Records are also featured, probably the most often interviewed label in 'zines due having boobs and Burzum in my blunt opinion (the others most interviewed in my totally unscientific top 3 are Osmose and Avantgarde, because the latter being usually also MonumentuM interviews at the same time) and Tomas Nyqvist, infamous for his No Fashion Records and not nearly as often remembered as editor of Putrefaction 'zine, for which he is officially interviewed here for. I've never read an issue of that one either, would be curious to see a scan though so feel free to send me a link. Enought text from me, read what these people wrote instead.

Runemagic - Eternal War demo 1993

Runemagic - Eternal War demo 1993 (unreleased?)
1) Funeral Summoning
2) Semen of Sathanas
3) Eternal War
4) Behead the White Hordes
5) Entering the Land of the Moon God + Outro (cuts)

Yandex / Rusfolder

Here is another obscure metal post with which I could use some help with. This is, or should be, a 1993 demo by the Swedish band Runemagic, better known as Runemagick after their 1997 return. Unfortunately no discographies nor biographies mention this tape which I got from a tape trader circa '97. He was usually reliable so I'm sure he at least believed this to be Runemagic. Obviously there's no cover for this either so I made a placeholder using the logo from their 1992 "Fullmoon Sodomy" demo.

The music on this demo is slow to midtempo, quite melodic old-schoolish black (/death) metal so at least the style ought to match with older Runemagic material. I'd love to compare this with "Fullmoon Sodomy" but looks like I can't find that demo right now. The sound is very demoish and slightly muffled yet quite clean. A noticeable synth accompanies the music for most of the time but it's not overbearing enough to be distracting, well at least to my taste it isn't, it lends an occult aura similar to many mediterranean bands to the music. The main voice is not really a scream nor a growl but goes well with the music. Good stuff that makes me anxious to find the 1992 demo to see if it was similar. Not probably that interesting if you prefer the death metal Runemagick, but if you like the later doomy stuff this might please you as well.

Atanatos - Ancient Blood demo 1995

Atanatos - Ancient Blood demo 1995
1) The Truth
2) Dark Age
3) Pagan Punishment
4) Transmigration
5) Gate of Darkness
6) Heir of an Ancient Blood

Depositfiles / RGhost

Tomorrow is the fourth Black Flames of Blasphemy event in Helsinki which I'm going to attend so I thought I should post metal before I leave. Also, I have to catch up my quota of German demo posts so here's the first and only demo of Atanatos who are more or less active to this date with a trio of albums and a couple of other releases out. To be honest I haven't been really keeping up with them since 1998 so I can't say much of their later stuff. Atanatos was one of the bands signed on the infamous Last Episode label which wasn't exactly known for quality and were never that well known I suppose. My copy of the demo is an unknown generation traded dub but the sound and tape quality was decent enough so that's not an issue. No covers so stuck with a Metal Archives image again.

Six tracks might seem like a lot but as half of them are shorter than average it keeps the total duration at reasonable 22+ minutes. The music is basically black metal but with strong basic and thrash metal tendencies, I also get some Greek style vibes from this demo. Sound is okay if a little muffled and not very strong. Unfortunately this hasn't aged that well or my taste has shifted as I don't seem to like this nearly as much as I did back in the day. It's not really bad but neither is it very exciting. Collectors of German demos, underground enthusiasts and the curious should give it a try anyways.

Wejdas - Saulei tekant demo 1994

Wejdas - Saulei tekant demo II 1994
1) Saulėtekis Žalčių Duobėje - intro
2) Nešventinta Kova
3) Dvasregis
4) Čia Nebus Saulės (Istic)
5) Nuogas Tarp Vilkų
6) Paukštei...
7) Žemės Širdy - outro

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Some non-metal music for today, this is the (I think) second demo of Lithuanian Wejdas which you might remember from before. Considering the length of the release, more than 45 minutes, it could easily be called a cassette album, but fortunately the cover helpfully says demo '94 ending that debate. Like the first demo this one was sent to me by a reader, thank you for the contribution! Includes scans of the covers as well.

Much of what I wrote concerning the first demo applies here, though there's more of dungeon synth vibe to certain parts of this recording, like for example the second track. The third track again taking a different approach and the fourth one yet another, it's quite hard again to categorize this to a single subcategory of music. The melancholic 5th track with the guitar strumming meshes neofolk vibes with ambient and again dungeon synth-esque moods. Some of the tracks feature spoken vocals which work ok (for change), partly probably due them being in Lithuanian which I don't understand. Anyways, I like this demo and recommend you to check it out if you liked the previous one or enjoy dark ambient, dungeon synth or just atmospheric stuff in general.

Sorath - Horns of the Goat 7"EP 1994

Sorath (us) - Horns of the Goat 7"EP 1994
1) Flame of the Goat
2) The Moonlight Glittered Upon the Snow

Yandex / Mediafire

More Friday night filler follows, this time I'm posting black metal and the 7"EP by the US Sorath which often is considered to be a sort of pre-Black Funeral even though the Baron has disagreed on that in some interviews and both projects existed simultaneously for a time. But that's enough background banter... no it isn't, I should mention this is ripped from a cassette, not vinyl! Again. Cover images were sto...borrowed from Discogs.

As expected of 7"EP's, this release features only two tracks and is quite short, just over eight minutes. Which is quite average for two metal songs. Both tracks also appear on rehersal/demo 1994 but I'm not sure if they're from the same session or not as I don't have that one. The EP says these were recorded in October 1993 while rehearsal/demo only mentions winter 1993. The sound is quite rough and raw so these could easily be from that rehearsal session. There are some death metallish riffs present in Sorath's music which I have no problem with and the pace is either fast or slow, heavy midtempo. The Baron's vocals are the raspy shrieks and screams you remember from old Black Funeral but also added are some low growls which works. Thankfully brief narration also to start the second track. A good EP, would be nice to see a compilation of the Sorath material. Meanwhile try this if you like raw 90's black metal, usbm and so on.

Exitus - Statutum Est Hominibus Mori demo 1990

Exitus - Statutum Est Hominibus Mori demo 1990
1) The Metamorphosis / Black Heritage
2) Reprobate
3) A Light in the Darkness
4) Tears of Despair / Hymn to Sorrow
5) Thanatos

Rusfolder / Depositfiles

One more contribution, this one from brother SuuretMuinaiset, thanks alot for the rip! And yes, I know Svart Records just recently re-released a remastered version of this demo on vinyl but since brother SM went through the trouble of ripping me his copy I decided to post it anyways. Plus it's a pretty awesome demo if you like doom metal which is a little underrepresented genre here in the Coven is it not? Exitus was a pioneering Finnish band active around 1989 - 90 who played doom metal with touches of death and thrash, think Celtic Frost, Winter early Cathedral and so on, but leaning a bit more to the classic doom side. Ripped from an original tape, which I already mentioned but no cover scan as SM has no access to scanner at the moment, he did include a pic of the cover though, see below for a smaller version.

Very good sound, quite powerful but "airy" enough to sound really more like proper doom than death metal. I'm honestly not sure if remastering is even necessary but on the other hand I haven't heard the LP so let's not go there. Long tracks, as befits a doom band except for number 3 which is a brief, one minute interlude and as you might notice from the tracklisting, there are two more instrumentals that blend in with "proper" tracks and we didn't separate them here. I don't really have much to say here except that this is a pretty damn good demo and surely worth the re-release. Check it out if you like doom and if you have a vinyl player and won't get bankrupt by madly expensive postal charges buy the Svart release too!

Dysangelium - Demo I 1995

Dysangelium - Demo I 1995
1) Palace of Death
2) Unohdettu
3) Yksinäinen susi

Not available, get the better version here instead


Another contribution and an item that was sought for a fair time, 1st demo of Finnish project Dysangelium. And will remain sought as, let's get this right out of the way, this is terribly poor quality. Ok, not the rip itself which was sent by a contributor, thanks, but the dubbed tape was in awful condition. Passed through an unknown but larger than I'd prefer number of traders' hands the tape is worn and features the most annoying sort of imperfection in the form of wavy, warped sound caused by the stretched tape. There's probably a term for it in English which I'm too frustrated to search for. This goes on in the first track for over a minute after which it transforms more even, now only plagued by imperfections and occasional shifts in channel volume. The second track, which is basically a dungeon synth instrumental, suffers also from the choppy sound. Third one which I suppose was originally on B-side of the tape gets the whole works again meaning the first minute (a bit less here, actually) gets the wavy undulating annoyance before settling to the choppiness. So beware and if you have a better quality dub, rip or Satan forbid, an original copy get in touch as soon as possible!!! UPDATE: I have gotten a better version, this one is discontinued!

Now that I've moaned, whined and lamented about the horrible quality of the source tape I suppose I should say something about the actual content itself. Three long tracks of raw Finnish black metal... well let's just call it nsbm, it's pretty obvious looking at the cover isn't it? Not so obvious just listening to it though as it's not littered with samples of marches, speeches, panzers, Stukas, generic warfare noise or the usual quotees' one-liners. Sounds quite similar to Pervogoat, which was a related project and so an extremely easy name to drop. Like I actually already let slip in the first paragraph, the middle track is instrumental and could pass as dungeon synth. This would be a good listen if not for the piss-poor quality. However, interested parties will probably still want to check this out and join me in a teeth gritting listening experience.

Eldrich Palmer #5

Eldrich Palmer 'zine, issue 5 (June 1996)
Interviews:
Tenebris
de Volanges
Attrition
Omnivorous
En Garde
Oberon
If, Bwana
Inner Thought
Articles:
Raw Novembre / Aggressive Records
Into the Abyss
Black Flames Productions
+reviews

Mediafire

Today's post is the second issue of the Polish fanzine Eldrich Palmer I have, though it certainly isn't the second but fifth issue editor Krzysztof Sadza released. Like the fourth issue here, this is A5 (which is a size I enjoy both for compact feel and easiness of scanning) xeroxed, cut-and-paste layout, typewriter written and still very underground looking. And I still love 'zines like this. The roster is again on the odd side and this time with even less known names. Probably. See the post on the fourth issue for further background babbling if you need, otherwise download and read this. Or wait for the next entry.

Amon Hen - Skeleton-Dances adv.tape 1995

Amon Hen - Skeleton-Dances advance tape 1995
1) Landscape 2.
2) Landscape 1.
3) Dream?
4) Brainstorm

Reuploaded

Ok, let's do something different again, here is Amon Hen from Hungary and an advance tape/promo they sent around in 1995. This might be a rough mix or something of the cassette EP/MLP of the same name, don't remember for sure and of course I don't have the other tape at hand to compare! Anyways, this tape was released some months before the rather professional looking real thing. Cover scan is included.

So what is the music like? Hard to put to a proper category, for sure. I saw the older tape G.L.A.S.S. being described as avantgarde cyber metal which I suppose wouldn't be too far off the mark as there are metal elements to this, especially the first track. But overall I suppose this is closer to industrial or gothic sound, perhaps EBM even. This is the field of music where I need to tread carefully so I don't think I can pull of very convincing name dropping or comparisons this time around. So we have synths, samples, distorted guitars, spoken voices, effected vocals (robot vocals on track 4!), beats, atmospheric parts and more going on here. It's quite weird, uneven and kind of interesting. I guess I could recommend it to both very open-minded readers and those who enjoyed stuff like Plastic Sampler, Neverwood (either, really) or maybe even Landfill among earlier posts. That is all, next time either metal, ambient or a 'zine... I guess I'll roll the dice to see.

Congestion - The Third Dimension demo 1992

Congestion - The Third Dimension demo II 1992
1) Intro / Unblessed
2) When I Ride to Beyond
3) A Gift from Heaven

Yandex / Rusfolder

As promised in the comments section of the previous post, here is the second demo by Congestion, later known as Let Me Dream and notoriously playing gothic slightly doomy metal as opposed to the slightly doomy death metal of these early years. Like the previous tape, this was sent by brother Grev and ripped by his comrade. Thanks to both of you! Apparently this one didn't have a cover either so I made an extremely low effort placeholder for it.

Much of what I wrote concerning the previous effort holds true here so I'm not going to repeat myself overtly here, the sound is quite similar as is the overall sound and feel... the musicianship is a bit sharper this time around but worry not, they still don't sound like professional, seasoned musicians. Which is obviously a selling point to some and a turn off to others. Not certain if it just feels like that or actually true, but the synth presence seems a bit more constant yet less intrusive this time around and the vocals are more uniform in their delivery which I like. "Unblessed" from the first tape makes a reappearance while the other two tracks are new. Not much else to add, if you liked the previous one you'll probably enjoy this one too.

Congestion - Promo/demo I 1992

Congestion - Promo/demo I 27.7.1992
1) Object of Palaentology
2) Unblessed
3) Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost cover)

Mediafire / RGhost

Almost a year ago I posted here the 1996 demo of Let Me Dream and in the comments section we had a little discussion about the pre-LMD Congestion. So here is finally a follow up to that chat and their first recording, a three song promo/demo which had no proper cover as long as brother Grev, who sent this to me, knows and he should seeing that he's been familiar with the band since the early days. Thanks as usual to Grev for sending me this and his German (was it?) trading comrade for the rip we feature here! I don't know if they already used the logo at that time seen on the placeholder cover but that's all I had to work with.

Like the discussion, and the cover choice, hinted the early Congestion was still death metal, influenced by Celtic Frost and with death/doom touches. Especially on the second track the groove is very much present. There's a considerable synth presence which I honestly would think work better if cut down a bit to be just a spicing. Vocals are recited deathly barks and rasps with some deeper support grunts, fortunately none of the awkward clean singing is present. Sound is quite good though it's clear to anyone that this is an amateur rehearsal place recording and not a "pro studio demo". The musicianship and playing in general isn't very tight either but it's kind of charming and expected of a young band's first demo. Whatever little flaws and mars it may have, I still prefer it to the LMD's gothic material.

Parade - Vieilles pierres demo 2009

Parade (fra) - Vieilles pierres demo 2009
1) Intro (dans sa demeure de R'lyeh la morte)
2) Ritual in Transfigured Times (Maya Deren)
3) L'acte écologiaque
4) Vieilles pierres
5) Outro

Yandex

I think I said I would upload the other demo, and project by Clément when I posted the Astral Underground demo here. This is his one-man project Parade where his "main concern was to create black-metal-rooted ambient music, suggesting the strange feeling that you can feel when you're deeply afraid of something that you can't see or apprehend" - mainly inspired at the time by Maya Daren filmography, ghost stories and Lovecraft. He's been working on the next piece for some months and it should be much more ambient-oriented with a particular emphasis on synth and electronics. Conceptually it'd be inspired by UFO-sightings and Twin Peaks folklore, which sounds very interesting to me, definitely looking forward to that. The rip he sent has different bitrates going on again but it sounds much more uniform than the Astral Underground one, though he wasn't very pleased with the bad (in wrong way) sound quality. I'm not that bothered by it.

The demo lasts a bit over 20 minutes and like already mentioned is ambient sort of black metal, based on the dsbm-sort of sound but expanding to different spheres. It's an interesting listen and if you liked the A.U. demo you'll probably want to hear this one as well. I would've prefered the ambient to have already more room here so I'm looking forward to the upcoming release.

Gorbalrog - Das Zepter demo 1996

Gorbalrog - Das Zepter demo III 1996
1) Triumphator / Das Böse
2) Pestengel
3) Schwingen des Donners
4) In Genio
5) Schafott der Zeit
6) Das Zepter

Mediafire

For today I decided to post some German black metal after a long break from that stuff, here's the third demo by Gorbalrog who played melodic sort of black metal and released an album in 1999. I know there have been at least two different rips around before but my extra sloppy and very quick search didn't yield any active links so I decided to post my rip. Which is again made from a dubbed copy I'm afraid and cover image is another less-than-stellar one from M.A. - a proper scan would be nice.

This demo has a rather raw yet still listenable enough sound which makes the melodic nature less obvious and gives the recording needed edge to keep it just out of the too-mellow field of synth-driven blackish metal so common back then. Nothing really amazing, just a pretty solid 30 min+ demo. Though I admit they tend to trip over their feet during the fastest passages which the sound helps further to mess up and the drum machine might annoy people who are annoyed by drum machines. So yeah... recommended mostly for people into German 90's bm demos and others into older demo sound might enjoy it too. That is all for now.

Astral Underground - Ratés demo 2011

Astral Underground - Ratés demo 2011
1) Bacchantes
2) Siècle d'angoisse
3) Violon
4) Ratés
5) Mes cris dans l'escalier
6) L'ère du valet
7) Nos rêves acharnés

Depositfiles 

As you have noticed, I usually post stuff from the 90's here, slowly branching into early 00's. But I do make some exceptions too and here's again one. Recorded in sessions between 2008 and 2010 this is the (so far only) 2011 demo "Ratés" by French project Astral Underground. "Why are you posting it?" someone might ask and that's certainly a justified question even though this is my blog and not that someone's, but to answer: the person behind this and another project, Clément, contacted me and sent these asking if I'd be interested in posting them here and I decided to humour his request. So there. The project went through a change in line-up and a new demo should be coming up pretty soon, with 2 additional musicians from a death metal band. Musical direction may "change from the classic "suicidal black metal" tones, but the concept beneath Astral Underground will remain the same: Description of emotional states, mental disorder, surrealistic poetry, antidepressant..."  Clément writes. We'll see soon as it's almost two months from this info (the delay is my fault, as usual) so the new release might be ready by now.

But let's return to this thing at hand for now, the demo runs over 34 minutes and seven tracks which, like mentioned in the start, were recorded during several rehearsal sessions over two years. You can hear this as the sound shifts from the raw and crispy coldness of the first two tracks (especially the second track, not so much the first instrumental one) to atmospheric, acoustic/ambient interlude with "Violon" to the slow and distant sounding desolate metal of the title track with a more voluminous sound. If you can ignore the "bedroom bm/dsbm"-associations this is actually interesting material. Next one is a shorter track and sort of minimal dark ambiance with piercing black metal shrieks, this is followed by slow paced black metal in the more suicidal vein that builds up nicely towards the end without a real release. I like the grating guitar there. Last track, which by the way is at 128kbps while the rest is 320, don't know why and unfortunately you can hear it... what was I going to write... yeah it starts a bit faster and has a bit more chaotic sound and more going on than the previous ones. It doesn't get messy, fortunately. But the lower bit rate is a little distracting. That's enough, pick this up if you got curious. If not, then wait for the next post which will be something old, dusty and possibly moldy again.

Vampira - Demo 1995

Vampira - Demo 1995
1) Bleed for Us
2) Darkened Eternity
3) Under a Crescent Moon

RGhost / Yandex

Here's a black metal demo again and I've been meaning to post this earlier, but an unfortunately fruitless hunt through a ton of dusty old papers delayed me. You see there is preciously little information and no pictures of any sort available of the US vampiric bm project Vampira who, as far as I know, released only this quite short demo in 1995. I know I have (or had?) a bio or info sheet of some sort which I think would've had at least a logo somewhere, but it's very well hidden. Being managed by "Hardman Entertainment" (the contact in M.A.) and having an European promoter making a fuss was slightly suspicious, to say the least, not to mention the whole "Romanian vampires making black metal" or whatever else the bio sheet implied the band to be. Whether an attempt to cash in the bm (and vampire) trend, a fun side project by people in some other sort of band, or actually serious black metal vampires we'll never know. That is unless someone there has more information. Cover and any sort of images would also be appreciated!

As for the music, this demo has a bit less than ten minutes of material, divided into two longer and one short track. There's a brief intro between the first and second track, but the tracks proper are metal. The sound is quite good for a demo but it gives me really more death than black metallish feel. Though it is obvious they're going for black metal here. Brisk mid tempo most of the time speeding up to actually fast parts occasionally. Now that I listen to it while typing I'm actually reminded quite a lot of old Greek bm at certain points. I guess the machine drums contribute to that feel a lot. There is a little bit of tape imperfection, nothing really drastic again. This leaves me still kind of divided, it's dodgy for sure but still I don't feel like completely trashing them. I guess you need to have a listen as I don't make that much sense today.

Genocide #3

Genocide magazine, volume III (winter 1996/97)
Interviews:
Samain
Usurper
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Mordor
Kampfar
Monumentum
Necromicon
Dead Souls Rising
Wampyre ShadowWolf
Laibach (excerpts from interviews between 1980-95)
Articles:
"The Celts"
"Elite Music from Australia" by Shane Rout
Scholomance (bio)
"Paganism"
"Tantric Masturbation" by master Xul Kharesh
"Invoking Diamanda" by Michael Flanagan
Devil Doll
+ reviews

Yandex

What sorcery is this, another 'zine post?! Yes, since I was sent the other day this scan by brother Wehrwolf and it was quite eagerly expected by some people I decided to act quickly for once and upload this right away. This is in pdf-format so you obviously need the reader to read this, if you happen to be one of the three or four people who do not have it on their computer. The 'zine was compact A5 size, 58 pages and scanned in readable yet economical size. Thanks again, Wehrwolf! 

Genocide was a 'zine made by Karsten Hamre aka Beastus Rex of Penitent fame and as we can see at least three issues were released. I've read there was some sort of controversy with the first issue or something like that but I can't remember the details now and I'm hungry and food is almost done! So yeah read this one, I haven't actually had time to read it through myself but the layout seemed nice and clear, some interesting artists are featured and some not so much, review sections seemed a bit meh but the articles ought to be interesting. If you have the first two issues, I would be curious to see them too.

Vampiria #3

Vampiria 'zine, issue 3 (late 1998/early 1999)
Interviews:
Primordial
Opera IX
Aeternus
Abhor
Depresy
Tenhi
Negură Bunget
Paragon Of Beauty
Angryon
...And Oceans
Krabathor
Nomicon
Ensoph
God Dethroned
Ataraxia
Abyssos
Baltak
Furthest Shore
Burning Inside
Ebonylake
Darkside
+ Cold Meat Industry special, reviews

Reuploaded

Here's another 'zine post, issue 3 of Italian Vampiria 'zine. You won't find issues 1 & 2 if you search for them under this monicker however, as this used to be called Savage Garden. I've uploaded the 2nd issue here in case you've missed it and now suddenly got an urge to read it first. Much what I wrote about the second issue applies here, except that this time there are no articles (except the CMI special) and less non-musical stuff included. All the reviews, which are quite good and reasonably informative, are lumped in the end of the 'zine which is convenient as well as the very brief news/upcoming releases section - I find it best to keep these short as they inevitably were hopelessly outdated in just about every 'zine ever. Layout is simple and clean enough, though there are frames and such but happily no messing around with fonts and making pages unreadable with graphics under text. Has some interesting content and is easy enough to read so I'm not going to babble further, your download is probably finished by now.

Mysterium - Battlefield of the Ancients (1996)

Mysterium - Battlefield of the Ancients advance tape 1996
1) This Blackened Earth
2) Pantathian Dreams
3) This Blackened Earth part 2 (cuts out!)

Yandex

Let's move back to black metal and here's another case where the Coven needs YOU! That's right, this here recording was sent by brother Wehrwolf and he was struggling to remember anything else besides this being an Australian unit, a mid-90's recording that was due to be released on Shane Rout's label Bloodless Creations as MCD but that didn't happen for some reason. And unfortunately the last track cuts. Don't know how much, if it were just an outro it might be cut a little but as I think it was a full track then probably a lot. So if you have any further info on the band and this release, please get in touch. Personally I have vague recollections seeing this release on some trading list or another and think the year would be 1995 or 96. A complete recording would be highly appreciated!
UPDATE: Wehrwolf sent the info the tape is from 1996 and it was Brad Johnston, session guitarist of Abyssic Hate, also in Blood Duster and Hecatomb behind this project.

What's it like? Black metal with dark ambient parts, separate bits and not all mixed up mind you, sounding quite oppressive and gloomy while having a touch of the warlike atmosphere the Aussies are well-known for. Speeds are more Bolt Thrower than Bestial Warlust though, slower midtempo for the metal and ambient is ...ambient. I like this and think it's a shame it wasn't released as intended. Again, if you have the full recording and/or additional info on the band, pictures whatever get in touch ASAP! I wouldn't advice reposting this elsewhere as it is an incomplete recording but I definitely recommend downloading and checking it out.

Wejdas - Į Tamsą (1994)

Wejdas - Į Tamsą demo I 1994
1) Į Tamsą (Intro)
2) Kosminė Gelmė
3) Išnykusios Civilizacijos Veidas
4) Nežinomiems Dievams
5) Miške (Outro)

Mediafire / Depositfiles

Enough rehearsals but let's stick to contributions for a while longer, this is non-metal for change and the first demo of the Lithuanian Wejdas, at some point self-described as amber ambient. I became curious of them after hearing a song or more like part of it on some compilation or another but somehow never got around hearing to their tapes. Luckily one of my readers had a couple of rips and sent 'em to me. Thanks, you know who you are! Alas, he had no info on the original, heroic ripper of these tapes so that person will remain unknown. Thanks anyways, whoever you were! Scans of the covers are included.

This tape is a bit over half an hour long and is divided into five parts, funny enough the first piece which is labeled as intro is the longest. This is ambient, mostly keys but with some sparingly used voices and additional instrumentation as well. But based on keyboards, definitely. This demo is mostly ethereal, quite melancholic and at times dark (the title means "in darkness") pieces but can surprise listener like on the third track, which is also the shortest one at just over two minutes. Well, I don't really have that much more to say for now, have a listen if you like ambient, dungeon synth (I don't think this would qualify) and other such things.

Cradle Of Filth - Rehearsal 11.01.1993

Cradle Of Filth - Rehearsal, 11.01.1993
1) Unbridled at Dusk
2) The Black Goddess Rises
3) The Raping of Faith
4) This Fetid Dank Oasis

Depositfiles / Yandex

Another rehearsal today, this is one of the items sent me by comrade Ruptured Souls a little while ago. I am sure you've heard of Cradle Of Filth and should not be very surprised to encounter them here, yet once again. Some of you also know that COF started out as a death metal band (stop to think about the band name for a while, won't you?) before becoming a black metal band and later extreme gothic metal or however you might wish to refer to their later style. This recording, like the third demo, is already in black metal field while still having quite a few death metal touches, as well as nuances from the members' past punk endeauvors, which would still be quite audible on their debut album as well. Quite good and clear enough rehearsal sound, with pleasant roughness around the edges as it should have. There is already a notable keyboard presence here, nothing overwhelming though. There was no real cover art for this, it was as far as I can guess just dubbed to people on ordinary tapes, I used the old logo as it seemed to fit better here.

As you notice, there are four songs, three of which would also appear on the "Total Fucking Darkness" demo III and the fourth one not elsewhere except for some live recordings, like on "A Pungent and Sexual Miasma". There was also a fifth track (also not appearing elsewhere) included with the folder RS sent and he was quite certain it would be part of this rehearsal and not an advance track for the cancelled original debut album "Goetia" but listening to it I find myself disagreeing as these four songs have a very similar sound, obviously from the same session and the fifth one "Spattered in Faeces" just sounds different. Not really like an album track, more like a demo recording yes, but it's supposed to be unmixed anyways. Please have a listen for yourselves:

Cradle Of Filth - Unmixed LP Track 1993
1) Spattered in Faeces

Yandex / Mediafire

As you note, there was an image included which lables it as an unmixed album track, but obviously that sort of picture is not much of a proof, is it? You see, back when I was young just about everyone knew how to write with a pen, instead of using keyboard/phone/whatever sci-fi device kids these days use. So yeah... but I think it sounds different enough to be an advance track and at least not being from the same recording as the rehearsal above. But if you disagree, feel free to tag it as part of the rehearsal and add it to that. Also if you actually know the truth, please share with us! But that's enough for now, have a listen if you enjoy old COF and thanks to RS for sending the items!

Hermh - Rehearsal 1996

Hermh - Rehearsal 1996
1) Wolfish Flower
2) Years of Dying
3) The Silent Touch of Bloody Rain
4) Winged Emptiness

Mediafire / Rusfolder

Here's a rip I had (again) forgotten lying in another folder on my desktop. A 1996 rehearsal tape by the Polish band Hermh who were sort of almost black metal band. But not quite! In the early stages the music was somewhere between atmospheric black metal and gothic metal, but I don't think they ever referred to themselves as black metal. The second demo cover had "grim misanthropic metal" as the definition and that might've not been so much off. Started in 1994 Hermh could be seen a project of Bart, the owner of Witching Hour Productions , though always with a full line-up. Anyways, throughout the years he's remained as the sole constant member. I haven't really heard much of the later releases but I believe they're more in the "extreme gothic metal" vein. This rehearsal tape had, as usual, no cover or a tracklisting but it was pretty easy to identify them as tracks from the second album "Angeldemon" and I made yet another placeholder cover from a stock pic of an angel statue and the old logo.

I have somewhere also the 1996 promo tape which has two of these tracks and a Tiamat cover, those tracks were released as bonuses to new editions of the demo compilation "Echo" and the debut "Taran" so I don't think I'll be posting it. But if we would finally concentrate on this item here, the sound is the usual rough-and-tumble of a rehearsal recording, a bit messy, little uneven and all that but myself I like the rawness it gives to these tracks even if the mixture gets really muddled at places. The first two tracks, which were also on the aforementioned promo, are the catchiest and best in my opinion, both quite fast and melodic. There's quite a bit of synth used here but it works here with the rawness, what I don't like is the drums at fastest points as they mash everything into a thick porridge of sound which is troublesome to digest. Even the thankfully sparingly used cleaner vocals are ok. You want some name dropping? Ok, the first tracks remind me at places of old Arcturus, you know before they went all nuts and I stopped even looking at their albums, not "My Angel" old though, more like MCD/debut old. Pagan Records mentioned Monumentum, The 3rd And The Mortal, Ved Buens Ende and early Opeth when advertising the re-release of "Echo" but I wouldn't say this material would be really comparable to any of them. But I bet that made you curious, or completely turned you off, so it's about time you listen to it yourself and I make breakfast.

Resplendence newsletter #3

Resplendence newsletter, issue 3 (September-November 1996)
Interviews:
In-Quest
Ironsword
+ reviews

Yandex

Friday night filler. Yeah, I'm not going to pretend this'd be really much more. But hey I told you I'd do these every now and then when I posted the two Syphilis ones, right? Resplendence was the name of both a 'zine/newsletter and an underground label, both run by Bart Marescaux, vocalist of Rhymes Of Destruction and his comrade Frederic Caure, former R.O.D. bass player and also a member of Serpentcult. The first two Resplendence issues were in full A5 'zine format, haven't seen 'em but they're listed to have 44 and 52 pages and at this third issue they switched to newsletter. No idea how many issues they did after this one. As for the content, there's 8 A5 pages, last though filled with a list of their releases. Interviews are a little so-and-so but at least Ironsword gives quite long answers. I don't really agree with the editors' attitude either but that's my issue. It's an ok quick read, have a look.

Oops, I had accidentally deleted the text when I meant to delete a misspelled comment! Restored now. Kids, don't drink and inter net.

Orchestra Infernale - Unreleased Promo 1995

Orchestra Infernale - Unreleased Promo 1995
1) The Gates
2) Funeral
3) Desolation
4) A Hymn Before Dying

Mediafire / Yandex

Today's post is another obscure non-metal item contributed by brother Wehrwolf, thank you! Orchestra Infernale was a project by Joe Skullfucker of Corpse Molestation/Bestial Warlust - fame and his girlfriend. This cassette was sent around in limited quantities to labels and such people but wasn't really sold or distributed, which is why it says "unreleased" up there... though it's not really unreleased if it was sent around, is it? Well, let's not go there. No proper cover exists, but the tapes had stickers on them and W provided us with a picture seen above.

Wehrwolf tells me more than ten tracks were actually recorded but only the four here were spread and the third one was also featured on a compilation CD which was released by a Melbourne indie label/record store. The music is, like W described me, Cold Meat Industry type music so it's somewhere between dark ambient and industrial. Some bits are more "active" while others are droning and brooding. Sound is good and the rather short (a bit below 14 minutes) tape leaves me curious to hear more. Shame they never got around to release that album. But I'm going to keep this short, give it a listen if you're into the kinds of music mentioned or an unusually open-minded Bestial Warlust fan.

UPDATE: Just noticed the id tags were wrong, the artist was misspelled as Orchestra Infernal instead of ...Infernale. Oops! If you've already downloaded, either fix by hand or download again as I've reupped it corrected. Sorry about the inconvenience!

UPDATE II: Was contacted by Vanth who informed me that the album release is actually on its way still after all the years! Stay tuned for further info.