Minotauri - Axe Attack reh/demo 1997

Minotauri - Axe Attack rehearsal demo 1997
1) Axe Attack
2) Crazy Man
3) Livin' Alone

Zippy / Yandex

It's been a while since my last post featuring a project of master Ari "Sinister Satyr" Honkonen so I thought now would be high time to remedy this. Today's item is also a request, made already back in July by sister Borderline and finally now fulfilled by a conspiracy of yours truly and brother Grev. He dubbed and scanned, I ripped and posted. This is the '97 rehearsal/demo, first of the sort I believe, of Minotauri, Arska's old school heavy/doom metal project. You might remember I posted the probably first rehearsal tape which was released under Minotaur-monicker about six (!) years ago here. Being an official release, more or less, this one had covers which as already mentioned are included.

This is another short tape, less than ten minutes, and the music is leaning more in the direction of traditional heavy metal / hard rock rather than doom as most of you know it. Sound quality is unfortunately not optimal, or rather the quality of the recording is somewhat uneven which might distract more sensitive readers/listeners. Who obviously are reading the wrong blog. So lets try again, the sound itself isn't bad at all, clear rehearsal sound with a pretty kick ass guitar sound and ok percussion, audible vocals not either too dominant nor buried among the instrumentation.  Yeah... um... look! There's a cool skeleton on the cover, don't you want this, you know you do!

Necessary for fans of Honkonen's (slightly later) bands and old-fashioned heavy metal in general. And the last track has hit potential, did they rework this and release under another name? Anyone?

Wind - Woodland Spirits demo 1999

Wind (fin) - Woodland Spirits demo V 1999
1) At the Heart of Dreaming pt. I
2) At the Heart of Dreaming pt. II
3) Taedium Vitae (Interludium)
4) Woodland Spirits
5) Ubiquitous

RGhost / Mega

Contributions continue, though this one was sent by a different person for change and is the third Wind demo I got, fifth one to be released by the project. Thanks again to the person who sent the rip, you know who you are. See these posts for demos III and IV. Only a little image of the cover, unfortunately, so full scans would be awesome.

Each of these demos have more tracks than the previous ones, have you noticed, while the running time increases very little. Fascinating. This time the music, referred to as surrealist chamber music on the distro list, sounds even more darkwave-y and neoclassical while the vocals do resemble, as again quoted from the label, "Devil Dollish" which would mean this artist in case you didn't know. The two-part opener brought Golden Dawn's debut album to my mind too, but that's really just association by song title rather than musical similarities. This is again an interesting tape, possibly better than the previous one but not quite as appealing to me as "Veil..." was. Third track, most dungeony of 'em all, is the best and title track the least good. Ok, I don't feel like writing now, I feel like watching Storage Wars so download this and have a listen in case you got interested and/or liked the previous tapes. Recommended.

'Til Your Ears Bleed: Vol III European Attack (2000)

Various Artists - 'Til Your Ears Bleed: Vol III European Attack compilation tape (2000)
1) Moonsorrow - Taistelu Pohjolasta
2) Hödur - Unpure Race
3) Tharapitha - Demon's Night
4) Alcoholic Smashing War - Hail to a Long Awaited Alcoholic Victory
5) Eviternity - Cant IV
6) Tangrycan - Immortalize Sacrament
7) Consecrated - The Charming Voice

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Today I've decided to post another compilation tape master Sorvali sent me. Thanks again for the rip and scans to Henri! This is a bit unusual one, though unfortunately does not include extra goodies like the previous one's newsletter. The very non-standard length (a bit less than 38 minutes) is the thing that really puzzles me. Just about every other compilation tape ("A History of Time to Come" would be the first exception that comes to mind) was practically as long as the tape the person used (so either 60 or 90 minutes usually) and seeing as this was divided pretty evenly to two sides makes me wonder if the guy had scored a load of 40 minute tapes somewhere?

Ok, to content. Another thing that I was perplexed by was the timeline presented by the tracks here, four of the seven date to 1997, Tangrycan's track is from '96, Alcoholic Smashing War (jesus what a name!) dates to '98 and Moonsorrow is (again) featured with "Taistelu Pohjolasta" from the '99 demo. Did it really take so long to compile this? Or did he make three volumes and released them simultaneously when finished? And why does he stubbornly misspell Hödur as "Höndur"??? So many questions, so few answers and nobody probably cares. Well, I do so if you have more information, please share. Sound levels here are even and things flow surprisingly well, bands present are interesting enough and almost all play some variation of black/pagan metal (even A.S.W. - to my surprise) with the notable exception of Consecrated's gothic doom. A pretty neat little compilation.

Pohakka - Minä kävelen vetten päällä... demo 1997

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

Depositfiles / Mega

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

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

Ugluk - Hveralundr demo 1993

Ugluk - Hveralundr demo I 1993 (1995 version)
1) Ar Var Alda
2) Nam Ekk Upp Runar
3) Moldina ok Blodit

Yandex

Today I'm posting another sending by Henri, thanks for all the hard work and this is the first and only demo by the Italian one-man project, the notorious if not infamous Ugluk. Cover scans are included and this is the Necrotorture 1995 release of the tape. I know there was a vinyl re-release made some (make it ten) years ago with a short extra track but as I haven't heard that one not going to comment.

We're straying from the viking black metal sub-theme a bit, but this is pretty much as Norwegian as an Italian band could get and received certainly a substantial amount of flak for that in the 'zines back in the day. Somewhat unfairly, I might add. Sure, it's an Italian one-man project (by Verminaard of From Depths, as a note) with a name taken from Tolkien that plays pretty much straight norsecore with lyrics in (old) Norwegian. Did I mention the sort of poor sound and slightly vague recording information (supposedly recorded in '93, the most common version was released in '95 and still saw it referred as demo '94 elsewhere)? But who am I to judge? Ok, in all honesty I tend to be very quick in passing sentence and casting stones, but I find myself enjoying this. Original? Surely not, even in its own era unless you count the novelty of Norwegian lyrics as that. Bad sound? Not really, I mean people were giving it crap for poor sound back then as the style of the times was shifting towards clean, produced, professional sound (crazy, wasn't it?) and this is lofi, muffled, imbalanced, repetitive and more "Transilvanian Hunger" than "In the Nightside Eclipse" even though the music itself would be a bit more inspired by Emperor than Darkthrone. Point fingers and laugh at it if you will, or enjoy the trip and embrace the peculiarities, I'm needed elsewhere now. Recommended but with caution.

Hin Onde - Ahti's Depths demo 1999

Hin Onde - Ahti's Depths demo 1999
1) Dawn of Ragnarok
2) Fimbulwinter
3) God of Thunder
4) Behind Oceans and Times
5) Towards Mimir
6) Well of the Highest Knowledge

Zippy / Mediafire

And here we go again, I decided to get this out of the way right away. See previous post. Thank you Henri again for the rip and scans!

Short info for those too lazy to go read the previous entry, more of the same which in this case is Finnish viking metal of folky sort. Though first of the returning tracks "Dawn of Ragnarok" still sounds kinda RACish. This is the first release under the monicker Hin Onde and to be honest I understand and approve of the name change here, if not for anything else then to take distance to the dismally poor Svartalfheim demo. This sounds much better, is played better and is almost voluntarily listenable without any sort of chemical or other choice artificial encouragement(s). I might actually even like it were it not for the specter of the previous attempt looming over my shoulder, whispering into my ear discouraging, maddening words and making mind wander to unwanted paths. The third track kinda stands out and sounds cool. Almost makes me want to hear the albums now. Still in the end of the day not really my favourite sort of music, especially with vocal performance ranging from terrible to bearable and so on, but if you wanted to like "Well of the Highest Knowledge" but couldn't, stop trying and listen to this instead.

Svartalfheim - Well of the Highest Knowledge demo 1998

Svartalfheim - Well of the Highest Knowledge demo 1998
1) The One with the Ravens
2) Dawn of Ragnarok
3) Well of the Highest Knowledge
4) Norder reser sig igen
5) Väinämöinen and Joukahainen
6) Two Ravens

RGhost / Mega

The previous two posts were examples of what I consider good sort of viking black metal. Unfortunately as we today move to Finnish soil the case isn't so and I know this item can quite readily be found on the inter nets, but since Henu sent me a good rip of it I couldn't resist ending my little -heim trilogy here. I suppose I could've picked a different, more ascending sort of order for it, though. This is Svartalfheim, from Finland (which historically isn't known for vikings), a project of Azaghal leader Narqath and comrades Wind & Kalma who have been recently featured with other projects here. This is the first and only demo released under this name, they started as Calm, changed to this and then swapped for Hin Onde around 1999 and kept that till the end. I suppose it is safe to assume they called it quits as the last release is from 2003. Cover scans included and this tape was released on Elven Witchcraft's sub-label Engwar Creations.

The more keen readers might have already picked from the previous paragraph that I'm not very impressed with Svartalfheim. And that is indeed the case, I've never liked them. I still don't, which considering history might seem odd, seeing that I liked Perkele's "Pohjola" demo for example. It's just that this sort of viking metal got old really soon and by the time I heard this it had already done so. Having a song about Kalevala heroes Väinämöinen and Joukahainen just makes all the other viking content stick out even more. The first proper track "Dawn of Ragnarok" actually reminds me of some RAC song by its end. This might be a sales point for some people but leaves me still quite cold. The sound isn't very powerful either, vocals are poor and amateurish, musician's performance at times struggling and, and... I realise there have been demos here where the points I've mentioned have actually been positive things but I just don't like this, ok?! Awful, awful stuff. So bad it's horrible. Makes me want to listen to Siren instead. However, feel free to enjoy this and disagree with me, I won't judge you.

Jotunheim - Aldagautr demo 1998

Jotunheim (swe) - Aldagautr demo I 1998
1) Färd till Valhall
2) Slaget vid Danariket
3) Bergslagsnatt
4) Lodbroks dödsvisa
5) Aldagautr

Mediafire / Rusfolder

Viking black metal again, this time we journey to Sweden so at least it is a valid Viking country. Another rip courtesy of Henu, thank you, and includes cover scans as it was made from an original copy. This is the first demo of the Swedish Jotunheim, not to be mixed with the more recent and a tad questionable Polish, Russian or US users of the name.

This is actually quite a natural item to continue from Helheim as the style present is rather similar, viking black metal with a raw sound. Which is enjoyable, somewhere between pagan black metal and norsecore. Another similarity to the second Helheim demo would be the very epic song durations, this tape runs almost 45 minutes with five songs to it. The screaming vocals are raw, occasionally very piercing shrieks, supported by "clean" vocals thankfully low in the mix. Various nature sounds serve mostly as intros and outros between the tracks, synths are used but with restraint which is nice. Tempos range from the rather fast second track to the more plodding, Burzumesque third song which is also the longest. Sort of reminds me of older Rautavaris, or I suppose it'd be the other way around. The general approach here seems to put more emphasis on black metal elements rather than viking/folk which some will approve while others might be driven away by it. I find myself enjoying this though I would make further cuts to the clean vocals. And perhaps trim the running times a little too. Recommended if anything above appeals to you at all, definitely preferable over stuff like Frostmoon.

Helheim - Niðr ok Norðr liggr Helvegr demo 1994

Helheim (nor) - Niðr ok Norðr liggr Helvegr demo II 1994
1) Muspilli strid
2) Blandt ulvenes frender og kråkenes trær
3) Jotne vandring
4) Under the Norse Sky
5) De kalde marker av slag fortapt
6) Drømmedans
7) Gravlagt i Eljudne
8) Gjennom mørke og tåke

Zippy / Depositfiles

This week I'm going to continue with the contributions master Henri Sorvali sent me back whenever it was and to kick the week off, here's a continuation to a post over five years old, the second demo of Norse viking black metal band Helheim. Still not to be mixed with the industrial-tinged, NS-flavoured The Helheim Society. The long time between these posts isn't an oversight, I just didn't feel like ripping my copy of the tape back then, with the 2005 re-release out and all. Anyways, out of appreciation for the contribution, the good quality of the rip and demo itself I've decided to post this now. Scans of the cover are enclosed, thanks again to Henu for sending this.

Like Nehëmah's "Light of a Dead Star" this demo is in the rather rare group of tapes that actually have a longer running time than the band's debut album (don't believe Metal Archives on this, yet again) and without silence breaks or excessive intros too. Ok, there are a couple of shorter, instrumental songs but if you think of such as filler go back from whence you came from! Instrumentals, intros, outros and whathaveyous are important parts of recordings too and the Coven does not tolerate discrimination against them. Where was I? Yeah, it's good viking black metal, atmospheric and maybe a teensy bit inspired by early Enslaved, which they naturally denied in all interviews back then. Two of the songs, 3 & 7, were re-recorded on the debut album. Recommeded for the few who might still be unfamiliar with this and like this sort of music. Actually, it's worth checking out even if you can't stand folk or viking metal as it's more norsecore than drinking songs.

GOD Magazine #1

GOD Magazine for Extreme Music, issue 1 (late 1999/early 2000)
Interviews:
Mayhem
Marduk
Emperor
Satyricon
Necrodeath
Impaled Nazarene
Gorgoroth
Dark Funeral
Dødheimsgard
Carpathian Forest
Thy Serpent
Old Man's Child
Borknagar
Immortal
Hades (Almighty)
Gehenna
Darkthrone
+ reviews

Reuploaded

Ok, it's about time I get back to posting and since it's been a while from the last 'zine post here's the first (I think) issue of humbly named GOD 'zine, which I've been told would be a sort of follow up to Amortization. I borrowed this one again from brother passetiermes, thank you! Looks like it cost someone 35 marks back then, probably in a record store.

As you see from the list, it's more than enough Norwegian bands again and being made in the turn of the millennium (I think most interviews would be made around November or December 1999 as Erik's dead and he asks people about the upcoming new millennium, release date however might've been post that, hard to say as it's not printed anywhere) things were looking rather ugly. Horrible even. All interviewees are also so called "big" bands so nothing much for the underground fanatics but at least some of the interviews (like the live one with I.N.) are entertaining while others are just plain annoying. Well, 'twas the style of the times and all that. Certainly not a favourite yet might entertain you so give it a look!

Wind - For One More Melancholy demo 1998

Wind (fin) - For One More Melancholy demo IV 1998
1) The Sleeper
2) For One More Melancholy
3) The Night to Come
4) In Robes of Sorrow

RGhost / Mediafire

I decided to post the next Wind release today, which is, as my source wrote: "4 compositions of poetic and surrealistic synth/chamber music with both catchy and totally insane melodies" and released again on his Ståhlhammar Productions, sth 017. There seems to be some confusion on P2P circles to the order of these demos, but I'd consider Narqath reasonably reliable source for info so if "Veils..." was the third demo and this was released after it, it should be demo IV and the following "Woodland Spirit" (sth 32, 1999) is naturally demo V. Accurate info seems a bit scarce so until proven otherwise I will go by this. Again only a tiny little image was all that was found so a proper scan would be great.

The demo starts off easy enough with wind effects and a generally laid-back mood before kicking a more intense, even aggressive gear in at 01:30, complete with black metallish vocals and all. These almost whispery snarls are practically the main vocal here, along with a gothesque clean voices which dominate the rest of the demo. The music has a strong neoclassical feel to it and the sound isn't as rough as on the previous demo, dropping the dungeon synthiness level considerably and upping the darkwave gauge. I find myself agreeing with Narqath, this is a good listen but "Veils..." was a bit better. Check it out if you're into darkwave/neoclassical stuff.

Wind - Veil of Death demo 1998

Wind (fin) - Veil of Death demo III 1998
1) Veil of Death pt. I
2) Veil of Death pt. II

Yandex / RGhost

Let's cool down a bit with some Finnish synth music, sent by a reader a while ago (in summer) - thanks for the contribution! Wind, later renamed Varjosielu, was a synth/darkwave project by Wircki aka Mikko Virkki of Hin Onde (and also Calm, Decay's Delight and Vultyr). Apparently at least five (!) demos were released under this name and an unknown (to me) further amount under the new monicker. This here is the third tape, Ståhlhammar Productions release sth 009 and I could really use a decent cover scan for this, only thing found so far is the stamp of a gif you see decorate the post.

Divided in two quite long (seven minutes plus) tracks, this is a concept demo based on E.A.Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" story and features samples of the film of same name. The samples fit in decently enough and don't stand out as jarringly as they often do. Ok sound, definitely demo level but I think it kind of fits the music. On the first part main instrument is the keyboard, pianolike, supported by timpani percussion and further background synth. Quite dreamy and remids me of Greek Lamentation at times which is definitely a good thing in my book. Second part has a more abrasive synth sound and generally sounds more hectic, intense and even chaotic. I find myself preferring the first part but this switch is interesting and conceptually sound. Later part of the track again resembles the calmer first track again and the changes make me appreciate this part more and more. Now that I think about it, I'm actually at times reminded of some Voldsom releases. Old Ståhlhammar list called this music melancholic and beautiful chamber/synth music which is not off, I'd say this falls quite well under the dungeon synth category. Recommended, and I would really like to hear demos I & II!

Dawn of Azazel - Of Bloodshed and Eternal Victory demo 1999

Dawn of Azazel - Of Bloodshed and Eternal Victory demo I 1999
1) Conqueror Throned
2) Triumph Upon Equinox
3) Conflagration of the Mortal Soul
4) March on the Blind
Unreleased bonus track:
5) Fallen Angel of Doom (Blasphemy cover)

Mega / Rusfolder

Here is the first demo I referred to here, again courtesy of brother Fenrirsson. Thank you! Like the previous Dawn of Azazel demo, this was ripped from master .wav files sent by the band so good quality is to be expected. Cover scans included for this one too.

Not quite as much unreleased goodies this time, just a cover of their major influence Blasphemy, and much of the content might seem redundant as three of the four tracks would make reappearance on their debut album and the second demo. The versions here are quite different however, mainly on the vocal department (like a demented yell/growl hybrid that's not very growly at all) and also due the (very) young band's skill levels. As an interesting bit of trivia, this was produced by Phil Kusabs aka VK who is Blasphemy's live bassist besides fronting Vassafor. Fenrirsson also wrote that drummer and second guitarist were kicked out after the release and very few copies of the demo were spread outside of New Zealand. I'm not really descriptive today so perhaps you should just have a listen for yourselves instead. Recommended for people into warlike and bestial black/death metal.

Ancestral Goetia - Prophets of Darkmoon demo 1993

Ancestral Goetia - Prophets of Darkmoon demo I 1993
1) Vae Christus
2) Dark Imperium
3) God's Funeral Has Turned to Orgy
4) 666 Years Before the Lie

RGhost / Mediafire

Enough reruns, this is a blog, not the Finnish TV. Time for something I haven't seen online again! But, as usual, we stick to vintage material and here to the delight of many and terror of others is the first demo of France's Ancestral Goetia. Rip courtesy of a comrade of brother Grev's who kindly sent me this item. And will also send some Stregoica the band once he finds it, thanks as always! No covers and I'm not even 100% sure if they made any? Unfortunately they did not list all the tracks for this on the review in Stregoica the 'zine so I am not 100% sure of the last track's title, to be more specific, I don't know if "Years" is supposed to be in it or not.

But what I know that this is again raw, old school black metal with doomy touches and a bit cleaner sound (mostly due the rip or possibly source dub) than the other AG demo I posted. Here, in case you missed it. It's quite slow generally, apparently the main man Astaroth was heavily into doom/dark metal (think old Bethlehem) and such. I agree with the review, it is atmospheric and gloomy, "very unhealthy and dark" as the editor liked to say. So, this updates my Ancestral Goetia want list to this:
Mortal Tears of Desolation demo II 1993 (6 tracks, one is a Hellhammer cover)
Satan's Jester demo IV 1993 (3 tracks, one Bathory cover)
We, the Tribute to Lust demo V 1994 (10 tracks, one Mayhem cover - I have this but the rip is missing the last track!)

Be sure to let me know if you got 'em! Meanwhile, this is recommended to people who enjoyed the demo III and actually to some who didn't as well but are into old school doomy black metal like (very old) Samael, Barathrum und so weiter. Acquired taste perhaps, but I devour this!

Hödur - The Majesty demo 1995

Hödur - The Majesty demo 1995
1) The Shadows
2) Master
3) Eternal Night
4) Wilczyca z SS

Yandex

I decided to do another repost and by now some of you are probably staring in disbelief: "He can't be posting that damn demo again?! For the third time?!?" Hell yes I am, and I even have no fear of death. Actually I have yet again an at least semi-decent reason to do this; I bought an original copy the other year and ripped and scanned it naturally promptly. This is after all one of my favourite demos. This version had a different cover than the one I was sent, I'm not sure which one is the earlier. For some reasons I'm inclined to think this might be.

Musically and soundwise there are some differences. Main one, again, being that these versions are longer which obviously means one of these tapes is not running or dubbed at correct speed and to be honest I'm not really 100% which one is correct! So, I guess it is prudent to keep this "slow" version and the old "fast" version both available until someone appears who can confirm the correct one. It might be me being so used to the old speed that this feels too slow. But feel free to check for yourselves and make up your own opinion, I'd be interested to read them too.

Kaamos - Demo -95

Kaamos [fin] - Demo I 1995
1) A Cry Sound Asleep
2) Lusting for the Sky

Reuploaded


Another repost?! Yes and this one is long due, I promised back in '12 to ask brother Grev dub me this one and only demo of Helsinki Kaamos, not to be mixed with the Swedish one, and that eventually happened, I ripped that and then buried it in the digital catacombs. Better late than never. Thanks to Grev for also providing a cover scan!

So what's different this time around? Well, being a dub of an original demo there's a bit less tape hiss and, oddly enough, a teensy bit more glitching on the first track, probably due the tape this was dubbed on. Most importantly, this has different running time, almost 18 minutes versus the 16½ minutes of the predecessor rip. Apparently the old dub ran at wrong speed, just a touch too fast. How I hate cassettes! Yeah, they've always been more trouble than they're worth, no matter what comrade SuuretMuinaiset or anyone says. But enough whining, have a listen to it at the speed (I think) it was supposed to run!

Baptism - Sons of Ruin & Terror demo 2000

Baptism - Sons of Ruin & Terror demo II 2000
1) Bloodstained Altar of God's Sanctity
2) Centuries in Everdark Ashes
3) Scattered Remains
4) Thy Heart Bleeds

Mega

I decided to continue with Finnish black metal for now and post right away another contribution unholydeath sent back then, thanks to him again, this is the second demo by Baptism who have become a quite well known name these days. This demo was released by Shatraug's Warmoon Records which was the precursor of Grievantee, his better known and now defunct label. I know there are and have been other rips of the demo around the inter nets, but since ud's rip came out nicely and I hadn't for some reason ripped my own copy I decided to upload it here. A cover scan is enclosed.

Like the 1998 debut demo, this one contains four tracks, of which "Thy Heart Bleeds" makes a second appearence. You might notice that with the exception of the first track, which is an intro, all the songs here (as well as those on the first demo) were re-recorded for the 2002 debut album "The Beherial Midnight" which means there's not much "new" content to be found. Compared to the first demo's noisy rehearsal sound this is much more refined yet still with a very raw edge, much sharper and harsher than the debut album. The buzzing guitars and distorted vocals dominate while the percussion is a little more buried but still audible. I tend to think this is the best sounding Baptism release when I listen to it. Check it out if you enjoy raw Finnish black metal.

Urn - Promo 1997

Urn - Promo 1997
1) I Am Your Nightmare
2) ...From Beyond
3) Nosferatu
4) Doctrine of Satanic Evil

Zippy / Mediafire

Let's do another contribution tonight and one that fits quite well into a Friday night, this is the first release of Urn, dating to 1997 and re-released in 1999 on vinyl by Damnation Records as "I Am Your Nightmare" with exactly the same content. When comrade unholydeath offered me this among other things he had ripped some time ago I gladly took it as my copy of the tape, which I had gotten some beer-drenched night in bar Valhalla back in Kuopio, is pretty much in unplayable condition nowadays. So, thanks to him for another donation! A cover scan is enclosed.

If you haven't heard old Urn material, the most obvious and easiest comparison would be with old Barathrum, seeing how the founder and mastermind Sulphur, as well as the other founding members Pimeä and Infernus were former Barathrum members this is hardly coincidental. Urn sounds a wee bit more thrashy, despite that unholydeath's comment how this is more like vintage Barathrum than B itself is certainly not without merit. Similar mostly midtempo pace and an aura of darkness combined with rather simple songs. Goes well with beer or another alcoholic beverage of your choice so download already and get hammered, I'm off to work.

Druadan Forest - Mirkwood demo 1998

Druadan Forest - Mirkwood demo I 1998
1) Boromir
2) Misty Mountains
3) Mirkwood
4) Ered Gorgoroth
5) Leaping Stars
6) Rivendell

Depositfiles / Yandex

It's been some time since I've last name-dropped Summoning, hasn't it? I thought so! Ok, here's a domestic act, rip and scans courtesy of mr. Sorvali again, who will help me remedy the situation. Druadan Forest was a side-project of mr. Kalma, at the time a member of Azaghal (and various projects of that band) and presently drummer of Oath (who recently put out a debut full-length album). DF released two demo tapes and this is the first of them.

I used to have a pretty low quality dub of this back in the tape trading days of my youth and I remember being quite unimpressed with it. Now that I listen to this I wonder how come I disliked it so in the past, the start of "Boromir" is like Summoning circa "Minas Morgul"/"Dol Guldur" with a rougher overall demo sound, even cheaper synth, clumsier drum machine and less competent vocals. Well, there's that. Despite how negative that description seems, I find this quite charming and if I want to listen to poor man's Summoning I'll pick this over polished, modern junk like Caladan Brood any day! I had recollections this would've been more ambient/dungeon synth than it turned out to be, I suppose I was thinking about some other project, Nan Dungortheb perhaps? Too bad Henri didn't have the second demo as well, would like a quality rip of that as well. You might be surprised that only one of the songs is a long epic (Misty Mountains, 9+minutes) and the others are practically in pop song durations. The last track is very... surprising and different, I'll give it that. But enough of this, I want to get back to playing Baldur's Gate (no, not the enhanced edition) instead of typing crap so have at thee!