Blackthorn - Ancient demo '94

Blackthorn - Ancient rehearsal demo II 1994
1) Ponad krainą cieni
2) Rogaty wojownik
3) Gniew
4) Ponad krainą cieni (rehearsal)
5) Rogaty wojownik (rehearsal)
6) Gniew (rehearsal)

Mega / Rusfolder

Black metal from Poland once again and here we continue, with the assistance of comrade LKS who provided the rip, from where we left off in May. This is Blackthorn's second tape and it is a rehearsal demo also dating to 1994. Interestingly, this version features the same tracks as, uh, rehearsal versions. On a rehearsal demo. Yo dawg... no, not going there. No cover scans so as usual an image from the Metal Archives was used. See the entry for the first demo for more background on Blackthorn. Or the Chors post.

Three songs, with titles and lyrics this time in their native tongue, offered and they're all quite long (over 5½ minutes) while the first demo had both various short numbers and a longer black metal song. The alternative rehearsal takes that follow are all much longer still. Sound is kind of thin and sharp, with no discernible bass and distant, faraway percussion. No synths either. Bloodfreezing shrieks add to the cold atmosphere, tempo varies from frantic pace to slow and contemplative within each song. It's essentially a very simple and tried formula but nevertheless enjoyable and I like this sort of "poor" sound personally. I'm not saying this would sound like Burzum but... I guess I already kind of did by dropping the name, didn't I? Not to mention the write-up to the first demo. The third song Gniew has a shift in sound, to kind of worse as it heavily shifts to favour one side, as well as in vocals which are dominated by even sharper, hysterical screams. It also has a riff in the beginning that sounds extremely familiar. Translating the song titles we see the topics would seem to fit the TTF formula well  ("Above the Land of Shadows", "Horned Warrior" and "Anger" if you've not heard of Google translator) and continue from the first demo.

The alternative rehearsal takes actually have a slightly fuller and more balanced sound, with more audible drumming. They also feature false starts and all sorts of unedited glorious mishaps. Hard to say which I prefer more, the desolate chill of the "demo" tracks has its own charm for sure, but why choose when we have both? Recommended for those who enjoyed the first demo, Chors and old Polish black metal in general.