Drunemeton - Recital to the Shinning Moon demo '96

Drunemeton - Recital to the Shinning Moon demo '96
1) The Wolves of Winter: Part 1: Chorus During Early Nigth
2) The Wolves of Winter: Part 2: Leaving the Forest
3) The Wolves of Winter: Part 3: The Hurting
4) The Wolves of Winter: Part 4: The Last Breath
5) The Dancing Fost
6) The Hand's Cuting
7) Triumph of the Ice

Zippyshare / Yandex

Today I wanted to do an item that has been bothering me for almost twenty years but finally some weeks ago the matter was lain to rest, thanks to the contribution by comrade Dead Christmas! The bothersome item in question was this '96 demo by "Polish" (so I was told back in the tape trading days) synth project Drunemeton of which I had a very questionable dub. Fortunately DC had acquired the demo during his quest for Nazgul Productions items and judging from the information on the covers I believe this too was a French artist after all. The rip also revealed how hopelessly lacking my dub was. Cover scan is enclosed and I have uploaded a very slightly edited version of the rip; I increased the volume just a notch and cut away a bit of noise after the first song that was not part of the demo.

At roughly 42½ minutes this easily reaches album length and is divided into two halves so to say, first twenty minutes consisting of the epic The Wolves of Winter parts 1-4. Instrumental, somewhat neoclassical sounding dungeon synth mixing (I'm taking this from the covers directly) Akai, Oberheim and Roland synthesizers with grand piano and some flutes. I've cut each part into individual tracks as the tracklisting gives them separate running times and they divided easily enough. The second half is made of three tracks with slightly more individual character to each of them. The Dancing Fost (I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be ...Frost but I didn't go and correct the titles, like I always say it is Necromansy and that's it!) starts almost harshly and proceeds to change to more introspective moods before slowly picking momentum again, only for it to drop while approaching the end. Synthesizer sounds rather than piano dominate The Hand's Cuting (again, should be ...Cutting but no correcsies!) giving it an aura of menace that changes to desolation as the instrumentation gets scarcer and more minimalistic, developing to a trippy dark ambient end. Last song Triumph of the Ice is the longest of the lot and reprises some of the moods from the first parts while featuring a very distinct classical guitar part in the middle before a long build up to a slow but triumphant ending with percussive elements and orchestra hits. Wintry, melancholic and rather nostalgic stuff, decent enough sound though not by any means polished. Reminds me at times of Emglev (again!) and in places even Lamentation. Few places. And just a little. But much more Emg than Lam. Recommended for fans of French synth projects, dungeon explorers and Nazgul Productions enthusiasts.

Ancestral Goetia - We, the Tribute to Lust demo '94

Ancestral Goetia - We, the Tribute to Lust demo V 1994
1) The Celestial Prostitute
2) Banished Impurity
3) In Darkness I Shall Dwell
4) The Penitence of Illusion
5) The Unknown Circle of Lust
6) Beautiful Princess of Their Tears
7) Enchanting Lands of Perdition
8) Het Lustful Incest
9) Deathcrush

Sendspace / Mega

As the last item of January I'd like to present a fruit of an international conspiracy, the fifth (and probably last) demo tape of the French cult Ancestral Goetia, making the uneven numbers fully represented at the Coven. An ancient entity who should not be named contributed the rip and it was divided unto tracks by sister Borderline's daemon familiar. Thank you to all parties involved! A cover scan would be smashing so please get in touch if you have it.

Ancestral Goetia demos II "Mortal Tears of Desolation" and IV "Satan's Jester" are still needed, feel free to contact the Coven for any clues to their whereabouts. Stregoica tapes remain in like obscurity and must be tracked down. Various rewards await successful explorers, treasure hunters, grave robbers and other adventurers. Rewards may be spiritual in nature.

Let us concetrate on what we have at hand, this tape is very likely the longest of the lot, reaching full album length easily. The Metal Archives entry listed ten tracks, last called Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Necrodoom which is curious enough but it was not on the recording delivered unto me. Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be there anyways as it would (quite obviously) seem a better match for a Necrodoom title, which also starred Stregoica 'zine staff. Where was I? Yes, so this ends with the (extremely predictable) Mayhem cover. The sound is still cavernous and very necro though guitar and well everything really is a bit more prominent, stronger and generally audible. Unfortunately due the imperfection of the rip it frays a bit along the edge. Music is mostly in the same vein as the previous demos so it is safe to say if you enjoyed them you're going to dig this too. Tempos vary from the rather brisk pace of the opener to the wallowing murkiness of the short second track and there's heavy metal gallop and almost standstill dooom to be encountered later. As before some synth is used to warp the atmospheres even further and small amounts of female vocals have been added to spice the brew. Works surprisingly well as it's subtle enough, more of an eerie background element than a presentation of random girlfriend-of-the-week's singing "talent" so often encountered on demos. On the earlier entries I dropped names left and right but seemed to forget to compare this to the Dutch bands of the era, you know stuff like Malefic Oath, 13 Candles, old Occult, Bestial Summoning, Hordes, Deinonychus et cetera? I think Ancestral Goetia is closer to them and the old Swiss bands in style and sound than the Nordics, or Mediterraneans for that matter. There's food for thought, I'm off to gather some for the corpus. Recommended for maniacs into slow and poisonous, unhealthy sounds.

Mantar - The Wrath of Hornuk the Great demo '98

Mantar (fra) - The Wrath of Hornuk the Great demo I 1998
1) The Woods Are Our Temple
2) Sodomized for the Cult
3) Unholy Conquest
4) Cult of the Witchdemon

Yandex / Depositfiles

Mantar - The Wrath of Hornuk the Great remaster 2005
1) The Woods Are Our Temple
2) Sodomized for the Cult
3) Gathering of Vicious Souls
4) Unholy Conquest
5) Feast on Satan's Cunt
6) The Wrath of Hornuk the Great
7) Cult of the Witchdemon (The Second Coming)

Mega

How about a non-metal contribution today, just for change? This here thing was sent by our comrade zargonath a few months ago and it's (according to the note included) Mantar from France, not to be mixed with the reasonably well-known current German one. Our subject was formed by two men in 1996 who went by the nom de guerres Lord Tenebro Maleficium and Lord Silvins Mortificus, made this demo and disbanded in '99. Lord Tenebro killed himself a year later so slight scent of cult may be detected melding into the usual gravestench and tombmusk. Judging from the cover my educated guess would be that this was released as a CDr but I might be mistaken (remaster was, original was on tape so 50/50).

The first track starts with an odd glitchy sound which I'm certain is not part of the experience before moving unto soft tolling sounds followed by an extremely familiar bit which is stolen borrowed sampled(?) from somewhere very well known but I can't remember it now damn this is frustrating!!! Help me out someone less demented and I'll edit this later (it was Dimmu Borgir's Master of Disharmony, 1996 EP version! Thanks Eugene!). Right, it goes on for quite long, repetitive as expected, but effective despite the nagging familiarity (is it from a soundtrack? I know this damn it!) with some additional elements tossed in like slightly pompous sounding accented voices. The second track goes on with the same dramatic, soundtrackesque dungeon synth feel and most likely as a residual trauma from the first track I find myself wondering if I've encountered these sounds somewhere before. Third song, surprisingly... uh, mellow, despite its name allows me to shake of the mental shackle and enjoy the cheese. Last song re-introduces the vocals, one a normal spoken voice and the other a malicious black metal style hiss. My initial frown quickly softens as the voices are used very sparingly and well enough. To my surprise the track suddenly ends, almost prematurely and the demo itself with it, leaving me feeling a mite peckish. This is actually better than I remembered from the original, extensive two playthroughs session back whenever. Apparently another one that is best listened to at least twice in row. Standout track: number three.

UPDATE: It appears this might be incomplete which would explain how it felt too short. Comrade Eugene sent me a full version of seven tracks with an inlay, appearently the cover is from a 2005 remastered version. I wonder if it is expanded also or was the copy zargonath had just weirdly incomplete. Priests are now investigating, please wait warmly... 

UPDATE II: After a brief yet vigorous inquisition it appears the remastered seven song version sent by Eugene does sound a bit different and the songs seem slightly longer. Perhaps the speed is a wee bit different (it was a brief and vigorous not thorough inquisiton after all!). It is still uncertain to me if the original demo was really just four songs and the remaster is an expanded version or if it actually managed to miss three songs scattered in between the rest! For now I've decided to have both available, personally I like the fuzzier, more dungeony original sound better and haven't really had time to properly listen to the additional new content, so to say. Oh yeah, apparently the bio crap I picked up elsewhere (U-tube) was a pile of pig entrails as the remaster cover's linear notes seem to contradict them (ol' Tenebro's passing was not of the permanent sort for starters and he hogs all credit there, no mention of Silvins in sight). Odour of kvlt turns to sour reek of falsehood.

Satyrium - Demo 96

Satyrium - Demo 96
1) La voix du malin
2) Desolation
3) The First Power
4) Les brumes énigmatiques
5) Le rêve des Succubes
6) La mort lente

Sendspace / Rusfolder

Alright it's time for some more old black metal contributions, this one is from France and called Satyrium contributed by an anonymous donor already a while ago. Thanks for the rip! Not really much to see on the full scan I suppose so I'm fine with this teeny weeny lil' one.

Pretty decent sound but nothing remarkable thataways. Nor really with the music either. Very much run-off-the-mill decent but unspectacular black metal no matter how you approach it. Kind of long to boot, over 42 minutes so way more than several albums of the era and to be honest longer than necessary too. Underwhelming. For the curious ones, collectors of French stuff and so forth. Next...

Now that I think about it again, a bigger scan would be nice after all so let me know if you have it.

Torech Ungol / Gates of Azharia - Split 2004

Torech Ungol / Gates of Azharia - Split ...CD(-r?) 2004
Torech Ungol:
1) Le Désastre des Champs d'Iris
2) Le Torture de Hurin
3) Le Serment de Feanor
Gates of Azharia:
4) I
5) II
6) III
7) IV
8) V

Mediafire / 4shared

Let's do a split today. This one was sent to me by brother Emptiness Cycle who had scoured it from somewhere in the murky depths of the inter nets, thanks! From France, Torech Ungol and Gates of Azharia. It's not quite the '04 demo "Nirnaeth Arnoediad" that one of my readers requested a few... damn it, over five years ago! Yeah, but it did sate my curiosity about the band at least and perhaps it'll help unearth that tape too. I'm not sure if this should be considered a split album or rather a split demo released on CDr (I'm guessing the format by the cover, real sharp). Whatever, it was released by Inspire Hate Records, as was the demo too, generally better known for their NS-oriented bands in the early 00's.

Torech Ungol's part is wandering in the misty, ill-mapped realms of "ambient black metal" which generally tends to mean black metal vocals and some (usually artificial) percussion over what otherwise might pass as dungeon synth or dark ambient, perhaps with stringed instruments sitting quietly on the backseat while the keyboards drive and vocals make ruckus on the front seat. Must... not... namedrop... Summoning... oh damn it! Besides the raspy default voice we also have spoken parts on the second song, some silly effect-laden growly spoken parts, all in French and this one is actually more driven by acoustics, said voices and wind-effects. Can't forget the winds, no sir. It's very barely metal, I must say. Third one has more spoken words, synth and drum machines. As the band's name and song titles give away, this is very Tolkien-inspired stuff.

Gates of Azharia's segment is slightly longer and divided into five untitled parts which I insist on labeling with the ol' Roman numerals. How I love those! Their part is clearly more ambient of the two and has somewhat pagan vibe to it, even slightly martial what with the first track's drumming and chanted vocals. Reminds me vaguely of the Emglev stuff I posted earlier. II is folky and somewhat upbeat, III in similar vein but moodier, IV is a melancholic piece characterized by acoustic strumming and features some whispery voices. Last part is similar to the first. I must say I prefer Gates on this split, easily. Grab this if the names dropped ring any bells other than alarm ones.

Various Newsletters ('95 - '00)

Clavelline newsletter, issue 6 (21st March 2000)
Article:
Faerie folk, part one
+ contact addresses, reviews

Divine Blackness newsletter, issue 6 (1996)
Interview:
Countess
+ news, reviews, Denial of God bio/newsletter March '95

Underground Scene Report newsletter, issue 14 (February 1995)
Lots of reviews

Mega

Remember when I said I'd make the next post "proper" last time? Well, I lied. I noticed I had scanned a bunch of small newsletters and put them in the same folder, then as usual forgot them lying on a corner of my desktop. I thought I might as well make a post of the three now. So here we have in alphabetical order and incidentally from the least pages to the most:
- Clavelline issue 6
An extremely minimalistic newsletter of two pages made by Radek "Jelly" Vicherek who probably did something else too but I can't remember what anymore. Nowadays seems to be a web developer, fun trivia. First page is basically a listing of addresses with short descriptions and a nude pic, second one has three (3) reviews which are pretty good and the article Faerie Folk (part one) which seems to be an alphabetic listing with brief descriptions of various fae creatures. I'm pretty sure I had another issue of Clavelline somewhere and it probably was similar to this but can't seem to find it. Might be imagining it. Perhaps someone else has other examples?
 - Divine Blackness issue 6
This was Impure Creations' (later Velvet Music) newsletter and I'm certain I had more issues but possibly forwarded them all. I also seem to recall it was called something else initially... Scarlet something? Anyways, they sent these to people they were in contact with and this has more interesting content. Four pages, first has a brief news section followed by short but interesting (mainly black metal) reviews, almost all are demos. Then two pages for a Countess interview made after the release of second album, decent if nothing that special and last page contains Denial of God's combined biography/newsletter dating to early '95. I suppose it's informative too.
- Underground Scene Report issue 14
Kind of a shame I didn't get more copies of this, wonder why not since it was practically free too. Made by a Dutch fellow Paul V.D. Burght this particular issue has six pages crammed full of reviews (of reasonable length) with separate sections for 'zines and compilations, plus a little Dark Records special and some ads. Plenty of logos here too. I'd like to see more issues if someone has kept them.

So there. Let's see what sort of an anomaly I can dig up next.

Maldoror - Burn After First Listening! tape '09

Maldoror [fra] - Burn After First Listening! compilation/"jubileum" tape 2009
The Sumptuous Wine of Her Bleeding Majesty demo
1) Intro
2) Crepuscul
3) Zoooooori
4) Sleeping with the Dormant Witch
5) Join Us!
6) Ode to the Rising Moon
7) Funeral March
8) Rumours
9) ortuO
Rehearsal Tape 7 November '93
10) Dawn of the Moribund
11) Carpatsi
12) Black Ocean
From Rehearsal Tape 25/6/7 January '94
13) Sleeping with the Dormant Witch
Improvised Rehearsal Tape February '93
14) Mary, Seize Me by the Horns Pt 1
15) Funeral March / Mary, Seize Me by the Horns Pt 2
From Rehearsal Tape 28 January '94
16) Crepuscul
17) Zoooooori
From Rehearsal Tape 19 May '96
18) Centrum of Cosmos
19) Ode to the Rising Moon
20) Lunar Commands

Depositfiles / Mega

Let's do another big post today, shall we? It's also somewhat an anomaly again as it is a recent release, dating to 2009 but I've an excuse as it was released as a cassette and contains only old stuff by the French Maldoror, whom should not to be confused with the Italian metal band who later changed name to Thee Maldoror Kollective and went avant-nuts. Non-metal, inhuman unmusic for almost 80 minutes is not probably everyone's idea of good time as many of the readers who acquainted themselves with the (notably shorter) Christs Nails compilation may attest to. And to be honest, this is kinda similar as it is mainly piano-driven neoclassical dark ambient with rasping, growling, groaning and croaking vocals, spiced with movie samples, sound effects and some parts borrowed from Chopin (yeah, Funeral March yet again!). However, despite Maldoror's self-labeling of his material as "unmusic" it is generally more accessible and, well, musical than the Dutch duo's musickness and such standout hits like "Sleeping with the Dormant Witch" are actually catchy.

The main course of the tape would probably be "The Sumptuous Wine of Her Bleeding Majesty" demo, which was the main reason I actually bought this, having had that tape on my to-be-heard list for a ridiculously long time. The other material is compiled from rehearsal tapes, most dating to '93 and '94 with the exception of last three songs which date to '96. As you can see from the tracklisting, yes. The November '93 rehearsal tracks are a bit on the wild side, sounding actually somewhat crazed thanks to the mainly shrieking, howling and giggling voices used. They also feature distorted stringed instruments prominently and are much less easy listening than the demo part. '94 rehearsal version of the hit "...Dormant Witch" is quite pleasant again but the vocals sound this time as if he'd stuffed something into his mouth instead of the deathly grunts on the demo version. Being an unmusical lout I'm not 100% sure of his instrumentation here either, is he utilizing a guitar too? The improvised rehearsal parts from February '93 are mostly piano and growled vocals that drag on somewhat (read: much) longer than necessary yet not nearly as bad as one might first think it to be. The next two tracks, again dating to January '94, are two more demo tunes in slightly different versions and then finally the last three tracks from '96 feature two new, longer ones and a re-recording of another demo hit song. Vocals here sound more like sullen, spoken word piece than anything else with less play with effects and styles, though the last track does feature growls too. But that's enough, the rip should be decent enough quality so if you feel this sort of music might appeal to you go ahead and download it.

Daoine Sidhe - Daoine Sidhe demo 1995

Daoine Sidhe - Daoine Sidhe demo 1995
1) Tir Na Nog
2) La Vassalerie d'Unseelie
3) Gwaenardel
4) Bryn Yr Ellyllon
5) Gwyn-Ap-Nudd
6) Douar Nevez

Mediafire / Zippyshare

Time for some non-metal material again and this is another contribution, thanks for the rip and scan! Unfortunately both the sender and I know next to nothing about this band/project, except that it's French and apparently a solo project by a person called also Daoine Sidhe and it was recorded in the Nazgul studio which might mean it's by the same person who ran the label Nazgul Productions. Looking at the cover and based on what (little) I know about the other releases I'd date this to either '95 or '96. The cover's style is closer to that of Isildur's Bane (there's a typo on the cover, it's supposed to be Isildur's not Isildur'!)  demo released in 1995 than Drunemeton one dated '96 (I could really use a better rip of that one, by the way). Please get in touch if you have any further information and/or more releases by the label.
UPDATE: I only noticed today (23rd January '17 that is) that this was reviewed on the 4th Petrified issue which verifies it to '95. Alright, one more thing less to worry about!

To the music, this is kind off in the same spirit as the Emglev stuff I posted some time ago (here and here) meaning dungeon synth with Celtic/Gaelic (not sure which applies here, not my expertise) leanings and at times influence though this is not folk music, don't be expecting cheery ditties and such numbers to frolic to. This is mostly rather somber and gloomy even, second track being a good example. The shorter tracks in the middle, "Gwaenardel" and "Bryn Yr Ellyllon" are probably the folkiest and first one most upbeat, or closest to being that. I must admit I didn't really pay enough attention to this at my initial listens as this suddenly sounds much more interesting now. Or perhaps it needed a little time to grow on me? Only vocals are some heavily effected gravelly ones (and some whispers) in the rather witchy "Gwyn-Ap-Nudd" and they're not ruining it so they work ok. Though there's still a bit more of them than necessary. Note also that there's some sort of beat or percussion in almost all of the tracks which may or may not be a selling point. Personally I'm fine with it here. My favourites here would probably be the second and fourth track if I pick two. Recommended for dungeon synth enthusiasts, those looking to expand their RPG soundtracks or into the Celtic/Gaelic thing.

Waging the War (2001)

Various Artists - Waging the War compilation CD (2001)
1) Antaeus - Inner War
2) Negură Bunget - Immortality's Elegy: the Vampirism
3) Horna - Synkän muiston äärellä
4) Skjull - The Wanderer
5) Ragnarok - Certain Death
6) Frozen Shadows - Of Pain and Insufferable Torment
7) Lord Belial - Come to the Sabbath
8) Esker - Du Nord
9) Garwall - Par delà le bien et le mal
10) Thy Primordial - The Heresy of an Age of Reason
11) NostraDrama - L'hymne nocturne
12) Celestia - Darkness Enfolds the Sky
13) The Burning - Darkness Soon Will Be (rehearsal)
14) Veneficium - The Awakening
15) Azaghal - Ihmisviha
16) Demon Realm - Eternities Unbound Forevermore
17) Winter of the Black Skies - Rider of the Night

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Traditionally the pre-xmas season is aflush with compilations (though usually of the "best of" -variety) and I thought it'd be a good opportunity for the Coven to participate in this practice. Today we have a Canadian (from Québec to be more precise!) black metal compilation CD that I ripped and scanned some months ago. I don't really remember anymore if I had a real reason to do so, but since I have it I decided to share it. Sorry if I was supposed to post this earlier or if someone elsewhere requested it and I forgot. This compilation was the second release on Sepuchral Productions (which was founded by Frozen Shadows vocalist Myrkhaal). The label reactivated a couple of years ago, still concentrating on local black metal, but they do not sell this compilation anymore.

Seven out of seventeen participants hail from Québec so there is a good amount of local colour here which pleases me. Some of the bands are also a bit on the obscure side which is even better. Frozen Shadows is naturally included and I suppose many of the bands here were associates of Myrkhaal back then, the roster is international but with a slight emphasis on a few countries. Seven tracks were recorded exclusively for the compilation but I think (didn't check all of them) most if not all have since reappeared somewhere. Note that I've fixed some typos and inconsistencies on the tracklisting, most notably Azaghal's track "Ihmisviha" is spelled on the booklet and back cover completely wrong as "Immisvitta" - he probably misread Narqath's handwriting? Everyone plays black metal, ranging from the aggressive start of Antaeus to Thy Primordial's fast and melodic black to the more atmospheric approach of Negură Bunget but pretty much all have certain rawness and speed to them so the variation is slighter than usual. This is of course intentional, as the cover states "...this is not the place you will find cute and fashionable black metal". Might be a pro or a con, depending on your tastes, I don't mind the homogeneousness but admittedly a few more midpaced or slow tracks would've spiced things up.

Laïlheb ‎– Old Incantations & Forbidden Prayers demo 1996

Laïlheb ‎– Old Incantations & Forbidden Prayers I demo 1996
1) Ucarn Ot Rehrg
2) Hegïozg
3) Ize Rasgoeth
4) Lein Pugerk Orag

Mediafire / Zippy

Black ambiance for tonight, this is a project called Laïlheb ‎from France and as far as I know, their only demo. Quite similar to their label-mates Balam, which you might remember from this post and that was actually the main reason I tracked down a copy of the tape. Wouldn't be surprised if it was the same guys actually but the covers aren't too informative.

Like Balam, this is gloomy and dreary dark ambient with dungeon synth-sound. Quite simple, grim keyboards accompanied by an obscure voice reciting something unintelligible creates a mysterious, eldritch aura. Or sounds cheap and cliché, depending on your approach to it I suppose. All four songs are rather long, the first over nine minutes, but have enough variation to not overstay their welcome. Slightly more easy listening than Balam, I nevertheless enjoy this. And for once I'm not complaining about the vocals, the whispery and/or black metallish voices fit the music well. Recommended if you're into blackened ambient, dungeon synth and other casual elevator musick.

'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.

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!

Riding Hellwards: Volume 1 (1999)

Various Artists - Riding Hellwards: Volume 1 compilation tape 1999
1) Moonsorrow - Taistelu Pohjolasta
2) Thorax Serpenti - Hatred Souls (rehearsal)
3) Pandemia - Created Again
4) Nazgul - Celtic Lands
5) Shadowbreed - Path in the Dark
6) Baphomet - Crucifixion
7) Thoronath - Kristet blod
8) Katassamalass - Masticated Human Flesh
9) Svartkrist - Into the Abyss (live)
10) Atavism - Cemetary Cannibalism
11) Impuro - Orgia
12) Diamatregon - Throne to Eternity
13) Bilskirnir - For the Return of Paganism (rehearsal)
14) Demon Realm - Hammer of Hate
15) Unholy Archangel - Foronis
16) Prejudice - Perpetual Pain
17) Grimoria - A Great Sacrifice
18) Gorewinter - Buried by Night
19) Baxaxa - Thorn of Steel

Depositfiles / Rusfolder

I haven't done compilation tapes for a while and since master Sorvali's contributions included these too, I decided to upload this Belgian one today. Thanks to Henri again for the rip and scans! I don't know if more volumes of Riding Hellwards were released, but this one here came with an A4 newsletter and includes almost 90 minutes of mostly black metal bands. To my delight, it also includes a number of domestic bands besides the international cast.

The newsletter is a single A4 sheet, with print on both sides so I suppose I should say two pages. It contains interviews with Black Witchery, Funeral Rites and Moonsorrow, these are all quite short, especially Funeral Rites which is also pretty thin on the information side too. The other two are a better read. As for the main dish, the compilation itself, the sound is good and quite consistent, no extremely drastic volume leaps here. Music ranges from the epic heathen metal of Moonsorrow to raw and fast material like Baphomet to brutal death metal of Katassamalass and bestial blasting of Unholy Archangel. Prejudice's distrubingly modern metal sounding track also stands out like a sort thumb. Quite a varied selection of tracks despite having a black metal focus and several first time listens too. I'm going to need another listen and take some notes, there are a few bands I must inspect further.

Ancestral Goetia - Betray God, Hail Satan demo 1993

 Ancestral Goetia - Betray God, Hail Satan demo III 1993
1) Cursed Devoting
2) Niger Artium Mater

Yandex / RGhost

Black metal and another contribution, this is actually one of my requests fulfilled by a reader, thank you for sending this rip! I got interested in hearing the various bands associated with the cult French 'zine Stregoica (see here & here) of which the one with the same name contained most of the editorial staff and Ancestral Goetia here, as well as Necrodoom, were mainly Astaroth's projects with his brother Corvus Lucifuge, but featuring at least Satan Gestapo from what I gather from Belial's reviews (more like shameless praise) on issue 4. Or at least SG was a member of Necrodoom in the early period. Whatever the case may be, this is the third demo and source is a dub so no cover unfortunately and I'd like to get a scan if someone happens to have it.

This is a short demo with only two tracks (which were mistitled both in Metal Archives page and the files I was sent, Stregoica review had correct titles [/trivia]) running a bit over seven minutes. Belial cited Hellhammer as an influence on his review and gushed over the bad recording giving it an even more macabre aura and I guess I have to agree with him, the first track is indeed very 'hammeresque and the sound quality is ...necro. There are bits with synths, but mostly this is very raw, stripped down lo-fi slow/midtempo black metal. The second, shorter track starts fast and messy but cools down to midtempo churning again. I find myself enjoying this and would need the other Ancestral Goetia demos:
Prophets of Darkmoon demo I 1993 (4 tracks)
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!)
I also want the Stregoica tapes:
Infernal Torment to Dark Suicide demo 1992 (7 tracks, of which 4 are intros/outros, improvised stuff)
Promo/rehearsal II 1993 (intro + 3 tracks)
Promo/rehearsal III 1993 (intro + 3 tracks)
And the Necrodoom demo II "World Genocide" so get in touch if you have these recordings! For now, grab this one if you enjoy raw, doomy black metal ruckus.

Arkham - Promo-Tape 1897

Arkham (fra) - Promo-Tape 1897 promo 1997
1) Interdimensionnal Spheres
2) Dreams in the Witch-House
3) The Other Gods

RGhost / Mediafire

Today's post is another demo that combines two things favoured by me; black metal & H.P. Lovecraft. And no, it was not recorded in the 19th century, the band merely wanted to be witty. This is the second or third, can't remember the order, tape by French Arkham who were quite heavily influenced by Lovecraftian Mythos and other related works. Which is why I've always had a soft spot for them, I loved HPL's stuff in my youth and devoured everything I got my hands on. Ripped from a traded tape, but this time I found pretty decent scans courtesy of someone on Discogs.

Three tracks which run a little less than fifteen minutes and soundwise closer to the debut demo than the '97 rehearsal, but musically closer to the rehearsal with less playing around with synth and different vocals. Though both still do appear. The dub was of decent quality even if it does sound a little muffled at times. I'm running out of reasonable things to write as I'm famished and in dire need of coffee. Melodic French black metal with somewhat underground sound and Lovecraftian content, take it or leave it. Personally, I enjoyed this.

Undead Productions compilation (1996)

Various Artists - Undead Productions compilation tape (March 1996)
1) Enkil - My Final Sunrise
2) Enkil - Mine King and Queen Are Dead
3) Nephilim - Fire Beyond the Black Haze
4) Black Funeral - Ex Sanguini Draculae
5) Black Funeral - The Floating Blue Witchlight
6) Abazagorath - Les Fleurs du Mal
7) Abazagorath - Nightrealm
8) Demoncy - Ascension of a Star Long Since Fallen
9) Darkness Enshroud - Into the Abyss
10) Sorath - The Darkness Returns
11) Sorath - Winterblack and Sorcery Beyond
12) Haborym - The Ancient Land of Serenity
13) Akhkharu - Prey to God
14) Akhkharu - Cosmic Ecstasy
15) Avatar - A Lost City
16) Darkened Skies - In Winters Ancient Slumber
17) Funeral - Night and Fog
18) Mercyful Fate - Satan's Fall

Yandex / Zippy

It's been several months since I last posted a compilation so this would be a decent spot to do so again. Also this is again a contribution from someone, thank you once more! Undead Productions was the label/distro of Enkil's Magnus Thorne. A second volume was supposed to be released in 1997 but I don't know if it actually was. Somehow I'm under the impression it didn't happen. (UPDATE: Wrong, it was released about a year later as confirmed by various sources!) I could use cover scans for this one, all I presently have is the photo of the cover seen above (and the UP logo).

This was dubbed on a 90 minute cassette, as was pretty much the standard back then. It's pretty obvious when you look at the tracklisting that one of the songs is a filler. Well, he might've been a big fan but still it's obvious. I'm kind of reminded of the Sverd Storm #2 compilation. Moving on, there's a bit hiss present but as I always say it just adds to the tape feeling, no? Most of the roster are US black metal bands, the tape starts with Thorne's own project Enkil and related band Nephilim which you'll possibly remember from the old posts. Baron von Abaddon has been given plenty of room too, with two tracks of Black Funeral, one long, rumbling Darkness Enshroud piece and intro+track from Sorath. The only non-US bands on the compilation are Belgian Avatar, with a track from their '94 demo (which is pretty cool) and France's Funeral, later reborn as Kristallnacht. Oh yeah and then there's the Danish bonus artist. Except for the last one, all tracks presented feature a more or less murky demo sound which is a unifying feature. Standouts include Nephilim's track (which seems exclusive to the compilation), Baron's stuff and Akhkharu for being plain awful. Please don't mix this one with the better one associated with DAP. Oh, almost forgot to mention, Darkened Skies is also interesting as I don't seem to find much (well, any) info on them. Would like to hear more. Anyways, check this out especially if you're interested in the 90's USBM.

Dark Art - Necromancy demo 1995?

Dark Art - Necromancy demo 199..5? 1996?
1) Revelation
2) Necromancy
3) Magic
4) Dark Side
5) Possession
6) Agony

Mediafire

So I was drinking some gin and beer and probably vodka soon seeing that the other stuff is running out and thought: "Why don't I post something on the blog?" Seemed like a good idea and following that I am posting yet another contribution, this time a bit more mysterious release as my divinations haven't revealed much about it. My contributor didn't have a lot to say either, it's "an obscure French synth demo" to quote him. Thanks for the contribution, you know who you are! Right, this is a demo by a one man effort called Dark Art, includes photos of the covers which are not too informative. I think this was released around mid-90's but could be horribly wrong. I'm not sure if I've seen any mentions of it in 'zines, the name being very generic it's easy to forget! So, if you can verify the year this was released it'd be helpful and naturally any further info is welcome.

Enough babbling and to the main course which would obviously be the music. Six chapters for almost 28 minutes, with a concept that should be pretty obvious looking at the titles. It starts off bombastic enough with pounding percussion in what seems to be an introductory segment. By the way, this isn't my rip but I divided it into tracks and am not sure if it went right or wrong so blame me for that. The intro section is followed by also percussion-heavy main part which has more synths going on. It actually sounds more electronic than dungeon-like, even if I have categorized it into ds, possibly due the sounds used and the prominent percussion. There are quite brooding segments and the next piece is more forlorn in overall tone, despite the quite tacky electronic drums. I wish I had more gin, the vodka is not complimenting this as well. I like this piece more than the previous one. "Magic" continues from where "Necromancy" left off and makes me again wonder about my track divisions, but it has interludes that are... different. I'm not going to go track by track here, sufficient to say it stays generally in the similar vein with variations, thankfully instrumental and with a helping of cheese you might or might not enjoy. All dungeon synth enthusiasts, lovers of man-and-synth-in-the-forest - projects and eccentrics should give this a go. Velkaarn out.

Maleficum Orgia - Noixificurc detrevni promo 1992

Maleficum Orgia - Noixificurc detrevni promo rehearsal 1992
1) Unholy Darkness
2) Black Hate
3) Inverted Crucifixion
4) Hypocrite Christian
5) Victory Is Ours (Bestial Summoning cover)
6) The End of God Throne

Zippy / Depositfiles

Let's get back to France where we started our recent little black metal tour. This is Maleficum Orgia, a rehearsal/promo tape from 1992 and there's nothing subtle about them. As their choice of cover track might hint, this is old fashioned, rough and crude black metal. Ok, after a spooky synth intro they go raw and primitive. Looks like they restarted their activities a few years ago and re-recorded some of these tracks for their self-titled album so check that one out too. I got this dub once again from brother Grev, so thanks to him. Includes scans of the covers.

The sound is as you'd expected of a rehearsal recording. Murky and muddled but well enough balanced so nothing completely overpowers the other elements. Despite what I wrote about this being primitive and rough, it has quite a lot of interesting old schoolish riffs and moods. So more Vlad Tepes than Ildjarn I guess. I also like the short synth intros. Not going to write more, grab this if you like lo-fi black metal, are an old school bonehead or collect French stuff. Bonus points from the cover art.

Nehëmah - Light of a Dead Star demo 1995

Nehëmah - Light of a Dead Star demo 1995
1) Light of a Dead Star
2) Across the Landscape
3) Black Winds over the Walls of Csejthe
4) Sønner av den Fimbulvetr
5) In October Nightshades
6) I Will Sleep with the Dragon
7) Cycle ov Werewolf
8) Outro

Yandex / Zippy

Today I'm fulfilling an old request and by old I mean almost three years old. An anonymous reader was asking for the 1995 demo of the French black metal band Nehëmah here and not too long ago I came across a copy of it, bought it, ripped it and finally got around to post it. Not sure if that person checks back anymore but here it is now. Ripped from either an original tape or a bootlegged dub, can't say for sure which one, but I got copies of the covers and sound quality seems fair enough.

Someone might think that this demo and the debut album of the same title would be basically the same thing, but as a look at the tracklisting there and that of the album confirms this is not so. Or you could alternatively check that from Metal Archives or something, it's 2014 after all. Note though that the track durations at M.A. aren't correct. this demo actually has a slightly longer playtime than any of the albums at almost 57 minutes. There's an obvious intro before the first track starts and more are found between the rest of the songs. At first I toyed with the idea of separating these to their own tracks, but then decided to go with the tracklisting printed in the cover and leave them be. Tracks 3 and 4 would make a reappearence on the second album "Shadows from the Past..." and track 7 appears to be exclusive to this tape. Unless it was renamed and/or worked for either album, I'm not feeling devoted enough to confirm that right now. Sound is a little murky and grim, guitars buzz like on "Under a Funeral Moon" and drums are a rumble mostly in the background, vocals raspy and grating. Surprisingly enough, you can occasionally hear the bass clearly. There are synths too but they are used sparingly. If you've heard either of the old Nehëmah albums you'll know what you're getting here, early 90's Nordic-style black metal worship and I'm ok with this. That is all.

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!