Svantevith - The Return of the Ancient Slav promo '96

Svantevith - The Return of the Ancient Slav promo 1996
1) Intro
2) Te Svantevith Laudeamus
3) Te Svantevith... /Reprise/
4) 966
5) Smutek i rozpacz
6) Outro

Sendspace / Sampo

...or "Thr Return of the Ancient Slav" as our Slavonic heroes manage to misspell the title in not one but two places. That aside, I know there were rips of this floating in the bleak cybervoid before but at least the one I had saved was not of very stellar master elite quality so when I came across my copy of the tape I decided to rip it and post the result as it turned out ok. "It" being the sole promo tape of the Polish project Svantevith featuring Lord Smrtan of Nirnaeth fame, also responsible for keyboards, programming and similar pursuits in Themgoroth and Eblis. Cover scans included.

Yes, this is a synth project like you probably guessed, and in the particular vein Poles were fond of: bombastic Slavonic pagan ambient with touches of both neoclassical and pagan black metal. Latter mainly represented by the surprisingly savage raw vocals and scarcely deployed guitar. There are certainly some elements of dungeon synth present as well but I think this is quite differently oriented. Adding the tag still as the music may appeal to fans of that category. Side A could be considered the main or title part and consists of a lengthy intro, ten minute plus epos Te Svantevith Laudeamus and a short instrumental reprise piece. Side B opens with the aggressive 966 which is the most metal song of the bunch with constant fervent vocals, martial percussion, abundant background shrieks and occasional electric guitar support. This is a long track, almost seven minutes, but has a lot going on. Smutek i rozpacz which follows has music credited to Azhubham Haani (well, spelled Aazhubham... here). The band? Is this a cover? It's a bleak affair led by the shriekier voice, guitar strumming and quite mellow synth. I don't recognize this as any of the A.H. songs right now, let's leave that to experts. A lonely piano opens the almost five minute outro track that soon adds more elements in and developes epic character. Interesting thing, not quite metal nor purely ambient either. Reminds me a bit of the December's Fire album, though I seem to like this more. Could be due my strong preference of D.F. demos over the full length. I recommend you take a listen if you like dramatic synth stuff and don't mind a Slavonic pagan metal flair to it.

Perkele - Saatanalliset himot reh/demo '94

Perkele - Saatanalliset himot rehearsal demo I 1994
1) Kalevala (Morningstar cover)
2) Pagan Fire
3) Nainen pimeydestä
4) Seductive Eyes of a Wolf
5) It Will End...
6) Eternal Moonfog
7) Witchcraft (Morningstar cover)

"raw" version: Mediafire / RGhost
"edited" version: Depositfiles / Sendspace

Ok, I said I'd do some reposts of old stuff I've ripped again with hopefully better results than the first time around. This time we return to December 2008 and the first demo by Finland's Perkele. The old write-up actually does decent job giving background so I'm not repeating that. Instead let's move to what's different this time: generally a superior rip (original was in mono) and just in case new scans as well. Except that I just could not make it that simple so there are two rips. Or rather the other one is a slightly more "produced" version while the first is the raw rip with minimal meddling.

The edited version is basically tidied up, I cut out the various clicks, snaps and pops in between the songs and... did something else I already forgot! Maybe I adjusted the levels a little? It's very marginal whatever it was. The end result is 15:11 while the so-called raw version has all the tape recorded noises and such in place for the hopeless romantics to gush about and lasts a whopping 15:15 so I guess you get four seconds more for your money. Except that it costs nothing.

Other observations: listening to the improved rip I noticed that this actually has quite a decent rehearsal sound, sure it's a little on the messy and raw side but at least it has certain amount of balls to it. Vocals are a little buried and to be honest you really have to know the songs to be able to make out the lyrics. I don't even want to start guessing how many times I've heard the songs Pagan Fire and Nainen pimeydestä that reappeared on the second demo "Pohjola" so obviously I've no problem following them. I'm starting to get a feeling I'm just typing now for the sake of it so better stop here

Kraina Wiecznego Mrozu - Ziemia ojców demo I '98

Kraina Wiecznego Mrozu - Ziemia ojców demo I 1998
1) Pruskie leśne królestwo
2) Nigdy mu się nie poddam
3) Wojna
4) Ziemia ojców

RGhost / Yandex

I think I owe you folks some black metal and this item is a bit overdue, I was supposed to post it pretty much right after me and sister Borderline finished the discussion over at her blog. If you actually took time to skim through the conversation in the comments and the update note on the write up, excellent - you know what's going on and why! If not, I suppose I'll tl;dr even though I really don't want to: this is an early version/first edition of Polish pagan black metal band Kraina Wiecznego Mrozu's demo "Ziemia ojców" which was re-released, possibly remastered or mixed or something but at least expanded (sound effects, acoustics et all added) by Reakcjonista Magazine in 1999. That is the version you see on M-A and has also been ripped and posted on Dorosłe Dzieci blog. The split by Werewolf Promotion was also based on this version of the recording but he messed the tracklisting up as told by sis B. I've not added a cover image for this since I do not have it and I'm not sure if it had one different from the '99 version. Would obviously appreciate a scan. Interestingly the title of the second track comes in two variations: Nigdy mu się nie poddam and Nigdy mu się nie poddać and both can be correct as first one translates "I will never give up" and second flavour "Never give up" so one is more of a statement while second one would be advice. I went with the version on the tracklisting I got.

Ok, so if you're already familiar with the other version it's the same four tracks but in different order and slightly more stripped down, the interludes and special effects are missing as well as some acoustics. This is roughly two minutes shorter in all. If you are new to the band, good since it's probably better to first hear this rougher take and then the extended one. Generally the sound here is rawer and somewhat more clear and audible than on the split. Music is Polish pagan black metal, of the slightly crude and almost primitive sort with patriotic flair. It's quite METAL too, just check out the very heavy metal break on the second song, halfway through or a little later. It's one of those things that on certain days you dislike and on others adore. Today is strongly the latter. I like the honest enthusiasm you can clearly feel (especially on this version) complimenting the earnest and frantic playing style. Recommended for folks into Polish black metal, pagan black metal and raw screaming coupled with youthfully eager musicianship. Next time again something Finnish. Unless you absolutely want something else, then it will probably be old US stuff. Or a 'zine.

Fiendish Nymph - Demo '94

Fiendish Nymph - Demo I 1994
1) Into the Abyss of Eternity
2) The Blazing Shades of the Distant Moonlight
3) Katara

Sendspace / Yandex

This one has been in the limbo again for much longer than it should have been. Fiendish Nymph of Greece, whose '96 promo tape I posted two years ago here, and their first demo from '94. As became the trend in their later releases, this one has no proper name and is very short - one "real" song in the middle and an intro plus outro. I pondered for a while if I should title this "demo I" (discarded, it does not say so anywhere in the covers) or "demo 1994" (this one won) or yet again just "Fiendish Nymph" (I can't bear having multiple self-titled releases!) and even worse, which rip to use?

You see, initially around the time I posted the promo I had only found a really poor quality dub I had. Then brother Grev sent me a rip he had, decent quality and all, and Fenrirsson offered to scan and rip his copy and of course THEN I did finally stumble upon the better dub I had and didn't think I'd ever find. In the end I decided to use that one and Fenrirsson's scans, due to personal preferences of sound. But this certainly was a team effort, thanks to all involved!

Ok, like I said very short tape again and the proper song is in the vein of later FN stuff, midtempo black metal with whispery main voice and mystical pagan atmospheres. Neither the intro or outro are really that great, they're just there but main course is delish enough. Then again I've always been a fanboy. Recommended if you enjoy their other releases and/or the Daemonia Nymphe stuff!

Jarowit - Za dawne dni demo 1996

Jarowit - Za dawne dni demo 1996
1) Zew umarłych legend
2) Płomień
3) Za krew naszych przodków
4) Wicher

4shared / Yandex

Let's do some non-metal material again, this is a contribution, from the same source as the Brunei stuff posted earlier - thanks you know who you are - and a rather obscure project from Poland called Jarowit with a four song demo released in 1996. As far as we know, that is. Seems legit, considering that quite a few similar projects appeared around that time in Poland. Most likely inspired by Perunwit who were among the first to pioneer a sort of mix between (neo-)folk, ambient and some metal elements with a pagan and often nationalistic ideology. Well yeah Lord Wind obviously did something similar too but I feel it's a bit different from what most of these sort of projects put out. Sadly no covers nor is there anything online that my extremely lazy and half-hearted search would've discovered.

You might've noticed I approached describing the music herein somewhat cautiously but I suppose best short description might be low-fi pagan folk/ambient. This is a pretty long demo, that is it feels kinda long running 23+ minutes spread over the four parts here. First song consists of quite monotonous and slightly erratic guitar strumming and tape hiss for almost five minutes. Second one features more guitar, slightly muted clean-ish singing, some sort of percussion (he might be drumming on his guitar case with his hands for all I know) so there's more going on there. It's still kind of sparse and most likely performed "live" or "rehearsal" so to say, whatever he (they? but it's probably, almost certainly, one guy) used to record this just set up running and capturing the result on tape. Third track seems to follow in same vein but has variation by adding what I guess is supposed to be a wolf howling (I'm almost certain it's the artist himself) as well as harsh black metal rasps for more aggressive parts. Those moments make me imagine this as some sort of extremely stripped down pagan metal solo performance in street corner or small square in less-than-presentable part of town. If this was properly recorded in a studio it would have none of the oddly compelling charm present in this forme, though it's a very trying listen, mostly overstaying its welcome and demanding a certain amount of patience from the listener. I'm not really sure whether to recommend this or not as my own reactions seem to vary from one listen to another. I suppose if you're into old Perunwit, Svantevith, Nirnaeth, or other of the several similar projects I can't seem to recall now when I'd need to you'll want to check this one out too. Though those are really not very good name drops as they're so much more, um, refined? This is closer to Messier than December's Fire, to offer some perspective.

Ymir - Trollsword demo 1999

Ymir - Trollsword demo I 1999
1) As the Spring of Light Fades Away
2) Trollsword
3) Fields of Mightly Battle
4) Shadowages

Yandex / RGhost

I wanted to commemorate the Cirno day with something released either '99 or '09 (which would more resemble ⑨ but it's too late now) and after a short deliberation I picked this, the first demo by Finnish Ymir from 1999 titled "Trollsword". Thanks to the nameless apparition who manifested during a séance to contribute the rip and scan! As the title might give away, this is not true Satanic black metal even though it features the Mäkinen boys Ossi (also known as Lord Sarcofagian and probably best known for Baptism and his boyish good looks) and Anssi (Vrasjarn in his more black metal related endeavours, nowadays fronts the funeral doom band Profetus which is recommended if you haven't heard 'em) along with a third fellow credited on the cover as T. Pölkki.

While the second Ymir demo, recorded in 2002 (see also: Trotzreich from '02) and released in 2006 flirted with NS (yeah sure, "flirted") themes and aesthetics, this one is wading in the dark fantasy side of the somewhat murky "pagan black metal" pool... no, pond fits better, and compared to the later tape the sound is somewhat thicker, fuller, meatier while still clearly in the Northern black metal tradition. The music is more melodic, even folky. The vocals are a little buried in the whirlwind of instrumentation but audible enough. Note that it's Anssi doing them here, his screams and shrieks sound a bit more hoarse than Ossi's and he also spices things up with very limited use of clean vocals. This is actually quite good stuff, why haven't I listened to this and the second demo more? Pick this up if you're into the other related bands, like melodic pagan-tinged black metal or just religiously collect 90's demos.

Finntroll - Rivfader promo 1998

Finntroll - Rivfader promo 1998
1) Intro (Hoterop)
2) Vätteanda
3) Rivfader (Pt. 1)
4) Den svarta älgens blot
5) Midnattens vidunder
6) Outro (Stigen)

Zippyshare / Depositfiles

I decided to post another of Henri's sendings that kinda fits a Friday night, this is by now (in)famous Finntroll and their '98 tape "Rivfader" which you may note I have here labeled as promo. This is because the covers mention the first demo coming soon so I presume this was considered a promo tape at the time of release. It ended up being their only cassette after all since Spinefarm signed them right after this was released. Or soon after, I can't remember. Thanks to Henu for the rip and cover scan!

I suppose almost everyone, well at least everyone Finnish and familiar with Finnish metal, has some sort of idea and/or opinion of Finntroll and their music but on this demo they (the late Somnium and Herra Sysi as duo) perform music that might be best called pagan black metal with folk touches, the infamous humppa-parts are really present mostly on the title track (pt. 1) and the outro while the rest is pretty typical pagan/forest/folky black metal and at times actually quite grim. I think originally the more noticeable gimmick was the all-Swedish lyrics rather than the humppa-thing (which did attract attention too, for sure). So even if you are allergic to their later antics and popularity you might want check out this demo. Unless you hate this sort of metal in general with passion in which case I guess you need to wait for the next post. Others may party on in the woods with drunken trolls, spirits and if in Finland, mosquitoes. Me, I'm off to work.

Dark Fire Dancing III (1998)

Various Artists - Dark Fire Dancing III ...it's only just begun Baltic Heathen Darkwave Compilation double tape (1998)

Sword Part (tape I)
1) Zpoan Vtenz - Jos brolis in Karelį
2) Tharaphita - Merekurat
3) Skyforger - Night of the Winter Solstice
4) Anubi - Kranklys
5) Ha Lela - Išjojo Bernelis
6) Manatark - Roosteitk
7) Maze of Cako Torments - The Shaft
8) Dissimulation - Mūšis Rūke
9) Menhyr - Amžinas Priešas
10) Winter Night Overture - Abysmal Winter Sky
11) Smolder - Ašarom Skausmo
12) Poccolus - Ir Aš Nueisiu su Tamsa...
13) Forgotten Sunrise - Blizzard

Amulet Part (tape II)
1) Girnų Giesmės - Veidrodis III
2) Skyforger - Sen dzirdēju, nu ieraugu
3) Laumė - Kur ėjo ji
4) Zpoan Vtenz - Voi ūžkit gauskit
5) King Lear's Convulsions - Mirror into Mirror
6) Siela - Šviečia.Kviečia.Šaukia.Laukia
7) Monkmort - Mother
8) Sala - live excerpt
9) Wejdas - 'Wejdas' excerpt
10) Sovijus - Liūdnas ir Didingas
11) Donis - Ateičiai
12) Akys - Nutolimas

Rusfolder / Mediafire

Today's post is a repost, which is kind of unusual, but people have been asking me for these compilations so I thought I'd post what I have here too, thanks to whoever originally ripped this double cassette and sister Borderline for reuploading it the other month! I fixed some of the tracklisting and stole the top image from Discogs. Sadly, the scans that came with the rip had only the covers for both covers, lacking the booklet with further information on the artists and the big cover itself. Then again, it's kind of fair since we did not buy this compilation, after all. Perhaps I'll get a copy some day.

There's a lot of stuff here so I am not going to go through them artist by artist, track by track. The total running times are kind of funny as the first tape totals a bit over 75 minutes, would roughly fit on a CD, and the second just under an hour. In case you didn't guess it by the tracklistings already, tape I, Sword Part, is metal and Amulet Part is ambient, darkwave and folkish material. Artists hail from all three Baltic countries and represent some of the best known names (Skyforger, Poccolus, Anubi, Wejdas etc) as well as some more obscure ones (well,at least to me, like Sala, Menhyr, Smolder and King Lear's Convulsions). Personally, the non-metal side is the more interesting here, even if the metal part does offer some great Baltic (heathen) metal and is somewhat more consistent. Most of the tracks have been featured on other releases by now, but at the time many were taken from upcoming albums, there's a bunch of live tracks as well as an exclusive track (well, the non-metal one is a remix) on both tapes.

Unfortunately there's a big fail on one of the tracks, most likely the fault of the ripped cassettes owner, hard to belive Dangus would've messed up that big: there's a stretch of silence in the middle of the Sala live excerpt, it even has the telltale noise of recording starting and ending. Other than that the rip would be good. I think I really need to find myself an actual copy of this. Oh and that's again a reminder of one more reason why I've always hated the tape format, I've managed to accidentally dub over a cassette myself back in the day. But enough words, even with the faults a great compilation if you're at all into the old Baltic scene.

Mjölnir - Midgard, erwache! demo 1996

Mjölnir - Midgard, erwache! demo III 1996
1) Ase heißt ewig mein Vater
2) Toten für Wotan
3) Walpurgisfeuer
4) Der große Gott Pan
5) Midgard, erwache!
6) Donar in Trudheim
7) Mein ist der Thron
8) Ich bin der Drache
9) Rückkehr nach Niflheim
10) Elben Macht (Toten für Wotan II)
11) Die Kunde aus ferner Zeit II
12) Endlose Hymne an die Abendröte

Rusfolder / Depositfiles

Today, March 8th, was International Women's Day and I thought it'd be nice to somehow celebrate that. So I thought to myself, "what do women like" and that's easy: raw 90's black metal, especially German, Polish und so weiter. Probably other stuff too but let's not go there. So here's some Deutsch Mjölnir, the third demo "Midgard, erwache!" ripped from my (dubbed) copy and including a scan of the xeroxed cover. Quality should be decent enough, picture and soundwise.

This is a long demo and I mean really long, it's a bit over 90 minutes and that's honestly too much already. If you've heard the band's only album from '98, or the fourth demo "Walpurgisfeuer" (which should be pretty easy to find), you possibly expect something similar here. While the album and the demo are kind of a mixture of raw and symphonic black metal elements this is a much cruder take on the form though easy enough to recognize as the same band. The first song is a long, rather epic piece with clean voices, resembling viking-era Bathory to degree while the second one is faster and more aggressive with militant, lifeless machine gun percussion and generally nsbm-vibe on it. The melodic strumming over the mess creates a bizarre feeling. Third song is somewhere between the first two, combining the slow pace of the first with the raw voice and aesthetic of the second track. Fourth song is the longest of the metal tracks and also combines the elements in similar fashion to the third track.

The three long ambient tracks 6, 9 and 12 were written by Thursenheim whoever he may be and my division of the tracks here differs from the interpretation of the Metal Archives contributor as I ended the title track right where the metal ends and had all the ambient that follows, pauses and all, as "Donar in Trudheim" while they had included part of it as outro to "Midgard, erwache!" and I'm obviously right here. Actually I'd like to revise my earlier statement, as the presence of the long synth tracks breaks the demo into more easily digested parts it doesn't feel too long after all. The tracks are of fitting enough aesthetic and length to warrant the dungeon synth tag for the post, I think. It's easy to write this off as one of those crappy B-division demos but it's quite fascinating and more than that. Give it some (ok, quite a lot) of your time and it might reward you. Or you might end up annoyed at me and having wasted an hour and a half of your life. Choose wisely, I've a nap to take.

Valgrind - Pakkasen lapsi demo 2002

Valgrind - Pakkasen lapsi demo I 2002
1) Pakkasen lapsi
2) Musta vesi
3) Pohjola

Mediafire / Zippy

Let's do another Finnish item and another one of master Sorvali's contributions. This is Valgrind from Helsinki who made (at least) two demos before sort of vanishing and this is the first one (that I know of). If the cover scans Henu enclosed are really all there was they weren't too keen on sharing information, I presume the song titles were written on the cassette or something like that. Well, at least the cover's unusually colourful.

Three songs which are all quite epic length at well over six minutes each and they seem to be either pretty directly inspired by my contributor's band or drawing from same sources. This probably gets labeled viking metal all around even though the lyrics are not about Norse topics, I'd rather call this heathen metal. Unfortunately the tape seems to have a bit of wear in the beginning of the first song, happily this does not carry on for too long. Other than that the sound and rip quality are good. The second track is the slowest and gloomiest of the lot while the last one is again faster and oddly enough the catchiest despite the longest playtime. What else should I say... well, it's quite a good listen but I can't help comparing this to Moonsorrow in my head which is somewhat distracting. Anyways, I suppose this can be recommended quite safely to fans of theirs and heathen/viking metal enthusiasts in general. I'd like to hear the second demo too.

Chronicles of Elven Witchcraft - Scroll One: Through the Dragon's Orb (1998)

Various Artists - Chronicles of Elven Witchcraft - Scroll One: Through the Dragon's Orb (1998)
Side Lion:
1) Utumno - Orkferd
2) Keep Of Kalessin - Skygger av Sorg II
3) Hypnos - A Lost Piece Through the Mist of Time
4) Zavorash - Return from Grace
5) Valar - At the Gates of Mordor
6) Warloghe - Witch-Song
7) Enid - An Myrrddhinn
8) Raventhrone - The Three-Faced King of Dominion One
9) Maze Of Cako Torments - Kalakiai Opiumis Sizmarshi
10) Horna - Outro
Side Unicorn:
11) Cernunnos - Dasos Ton Tragopodaron Daimonon
12) Heresiarh - The Cruel Bard
13) Slovisha - В лecy
14) Azaghal - Tuonelan porteilla
15) Rakoth - Return of the Nameless
16) Skyforger - Virsaitis Nameisis
17) Svartalfheim - Well of the Highest Knowledge
18) Urospuu - The Black Forest, Part II - Evil Nazgul
19) Kharadrai - My Void Is No More
20) Across The Scarlet Moat - Gold Elvish Tea
21) Trolltjern - Efterord

4shared / Mega

Ok, let's start this year off with yet another compilation tape, but this might be again a bit more interesting as it is the first Elven Witchcraft compilation (though released on the sublabel Engwar) which was sent to me by comrade Eugene who would like us to know this is available due to efforts of two Discogs users, from Finland and Lithuania. So thanks to these people! Cover scans are included. And yes, I recall I promised vile oozing black muck this year but all in good time!

We've come across Elven Witchcraft already several times here in the Coven, usually in connection with fantasy-inspired metal and dungeon synth. Obviously the compilation contains both as well as folky tunes, emphasis more on metal though a few of the metal bands (three to be accurate, Utumno, Horna and Cernunnos) contribute ambient tracks (intros/outros). The music ranges from rather pure black metal (Warloghe, Zavorash - who sound really like Immortal here) to more bombastic fantasy metal stuff (Enid, Rakoth) to folkish/heathen sounds (Hypnos, Slovisha) to pure ambient/synth (Kharadrai, Trolltjern). And as an oddity Urospuu's black/grind. Standouts include Trolltjern's still excellent closer, Zavorash and Cernunnos (I want that cassette album) from the good and the ever-awful Svartalfheim plus Heresiarh (which I used to like but nowadays their female vocals grate my nerves really badly) from the bad. Across The Scarlet Moat suffers from having much lower volume than the rest of the stuff, otherwise the volumes are fine enough and things flow rather well together. Recommendable compilation even though most of the material might be familiar to long time devotees.

Jotunheim - Høght Blæsir Heimdallr demo 1999

Jotunheim (swe) - Høght Blæsir Heimdallr demo II 1999
1) Jotun Komber Løs
2) Høght Blæsir Heimdallr (Ragnarökr I)
3) Stolþet ok Styrkia
4) Yxthid
5) Alfaþirs Rampnbanir
6) Nidher pa Nàströnd (Ragnarökr II)
7) Vigriðr

Mega / Yandex

Ok, enough Finnish items for this week, let's move to Sweden again and complete another two-parter of master Sorvali's contributions. Here is Jotunheim with their second demo, which like the first one is almost 45 minutes long, full album length. Full cover scan enclosed.

Like the first one, this has a bit rough, obvious demo sound. Not as raw though, there is more warmth and a bit of softness to it this time around. The main vocal is a bit deeper and I'd say things are a touch folkier. A few touches, actually. So I suppose it is safe to say they're leaning more in viking/pagan direction than black metal here. Kind of fitting with the coloured covers and all, I guess. If the previous demo was "In the Glare of Burning Churches" this would then be... uh, "Creed of Iron" maybe? Terrible and rather inaccurate comparison. This isn't one of my best days and I don't seem to be into this demo today either, I could swear it sounded better the previous time I listened to it. Now it's just not connecting. If you liked the first one and/or viking/pagan metal in general have a listen for yourself, I'm not going to make any sense until I get my nap. Thanks to Henri again, Velkaarn out.

Ondrim - Mahti demo 2002

Ondrim - Mahti demo II 2002
1) Vuosi 1488
2) Valhallan portit

Yandex / RGhost

Here's another item sent by Henri, thanks as always, and this one is really a quickie: two song demo tape by Finnish Ondrim that has a playtime of less than 5½ minutes. I don't know much about the band/project and the covers aren't again most informative ones around but according to Metal Archives this would be the second demo and the band split up in 2003 after a split tape (which you can find from Borderline's blog if you need it) and an album. Cover scans included.

Like already mentioned, this is a very short tape and has a rough, almost primitive (rehearsal) demo sound, quite simple songs, very little information, obvious ns-flirting ("no, it's not nsbm, no sir, it's pagan black metal" yeah right) and probably very limited amount were made and spread. Kvlt as fvck. There's some tape wear or fail to be heard, unfortunately, unless they're intentional and part of the demo itself. Who knows? I'm a bit torn with this, on one hand I enjoy the boneheaded simple bludgeoning and on other hand it's nothing unique or special and feels a little calculated, y'know? But check it out for yourself, it only takes six to seven minutes of your time after all.

'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.

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.

Frostmoon - Tordenkrig (1999)

Frostmoon - Tordenkrig compilation, cassette version (1999)
1) Skogsrøst
2) Vikingmakt
3) Iskaldt raseri
4) Norgesriket hylles
5) Hersker av mørket
6) Attack of the Northern Frostwinds
7) Ancient Vardöhus
8) Black Bestial Funeral
9) I'm Psychokiller

Mediafire  / Rusfolder

I decided to post today another item from master Henri's hoard, thanks once again for sending the rip and cover scans! We continue to explore the dark, degenerate times surrounding the millennium and from the ruins of the once mighty Norse empire crawled various suspicious entities, such as this specimen here, Frostmoon. This is the cassette version released by Alkana Žemė of the "Tordenkrig" compilation which contains the EP of the same name (tracks 1-5) as well as material from split EP with Ork (track 7) and from the never released debut album "Black Bestial Funeral" (tracks 6, 8 & 9). The CD version, released by Sound Riot, featured ten tracks, "For all tid" instead of "Ancient Vardöhus" from the split, unreleased track titled "A Funeral Memorial" and "Behind the Snowcovered Mountains" instead of "I'm Psychokiller" which judging by the name I would've preferred to have here too. Note that the cover here mistakenly states tracks 1-6 being from the EP and the rest from the forthcoming album.

To the music, Frostmoon was one of those bands I was wary of from the first time I heard them on Oskorei compilation, if I remember correctly, as they just sounded suspicious, unserious and all kinds of plastic and disingenuous. Maybe it's the machine drums, the effect-laden main vocals, the utterly goofy "hey" shouts on "Vikingmakt" or whatever else, but I didn't like them nor did I trust 'em. Perhaps I'm getting soft with age or really need to have my ears checked but it doesn't sound as bad now as it did back then, I actually like some of the guitar bits. I still can't take them seriously though, just look at that tacky Oskorei graphics job on the covers, the track titles that get worse by the release or just the band name itself! And the longer it goes on, the more mixed the signals I'm registering are getting. A fitting monument to the disastrous state of the later 90's scene, approach carefully with a shield in hand and escape route well scouted. Or very drunk.

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.

Chained And Desperate - Oracles from the Neitherworld demo 1995

Chained And Desperate - Oracles from the Neitherworld demo 1995
1) Άδης (Hades)
2) A Thousand Stars
3) Centaurs Dance
4) Dancing in the Garden...
5) The Shapeless Stone
6) Sirens Lament

Mediafire / Rusfolder

I wasn't originally going to post this but as the download provided on the band's website is still incomplete (see this post) I decided to go ahead and upload the rip I made from my tape. Please note it's a traded version, but I got a copy of the cover too, scan is included. This is the original 1995 version.

Sound and rip quality are both ok so no worries on that department even if it's not ripped from an original. Music is as described on the post for the 1995 promo atmospheric Greek-style pagan (black) metal, though the two added tracks (first one is an intro) are faster than the other mostly midtempo material which gives more variation to the demo. Not that much really to add, best C&D release overall in my opinion so download if you enjoy 90's Greek sound and/or their other stuff.

Fiendish Nymph - Promo 1996

Fiendish Nymph - Promo 1996
1) The Ethereal Nereids
2) The Drowning of Syring

Yandex / Mediafire

Here is a short item that has been lying around my HD for way too long... well the original rip was made in 2010, but I ripped it again as I wasn't pleased with that result. This one still has minor issues but I'm happy enough with it and it's about time I upload it. I know you can find a rip (or rips) of this tape elsewhere but since I've done it and like it, it's here end of discussion. Promo 1996 was the second demo of the Greek band Fiendish Nymph (if you don't count a 1994 promo track) who spawned a side project Daemonia Nymphe, playing sort of folk/world music thing and ending up with more releases than the "main band". Ripped from an original tape and includes cover scan.

Like just about all Fiendish Nymph releases, this is a pretty short tape at 11:40 which isn't bad for two tracks, obviously. Sound quality is of good demo sort but unfortunately the balance is a little screwy as most of the instrumentation is on one side. It doesn't bother me as bad as it used to. Music is midtempoish, atmospheric Greek pagan/black metal with sort of whispery main vocals which I like very much, accompanied by some half spoken ones, black metal gasps/rasps and such. I especially like the almost strangled sounding bm howls. Synths are featured quite prominently and very Greek riffs abound. I've always had a soft spot for this band and still do so I'm just going to babble like an idiot if I continue. Try it if you like Hellenic take on black metal, especially the atmospheric sort. If you don't like Greek metal give it still a listen or I won't forgive you.

PS: I would very much like to rip and post the first demo but the only dub (I should have two) I've found so far was of really poor quality. Help appreciated as the second dub is somewhere in old catacombs' nameless tombs and requires either massive effort (not gonna happen) or luck to be found.