Mournlord - Reconquering Our Kingdom demo 1995

Mournlord - Reconquering Our Kingdom demo 1995
1) Reconquering Our Kingdom (Part 1)
2) Reconquering Our Kingdom (Part 2)

RGhost / Mega

Tonight's episode of Sunday chill out zone takes us to Sweden, courtesy of a reader sending me this item from my want list. Mournlord was a one shot project by Karl Beckmann, former member of Mithotyn, Indungeon, Meadow In Silence etc and presently active with King of Asgard. Thanks to the person who had found this rip! No cover scans, so there's a crappy image which you see above instead. I would like a proper scan (UPDATE: was sent two better images, they're now uploaded here), or an original copy of the tape for a reason I'll address in the next paragraph. Oh, the suspence!

The demo is divided into two long parts and if you have a look at Metal Archives page (which calls this black metal, veeery accurate dumbass contributors!) and then again at the content of the download you'll notice that it's supposed to have a running time of 25+ minutes while this thing lasts about 18. So either there is almost half of the second part missing or M.A. entry is inaccurate. The track seems to end a little suddenly but with a fade out (which a child of a monkey could obviously do with Audacity or something) so I'm not at all sure whether the item is complete or not. So if you have a longer version of this, get in touch.

Another contributed image where you can see EVERYTHING!

As for the music, it's purely synth based and quite pleasant ambient/dungeon synth... marred by the inclusion of the vocals which are spoken word type, low and effect-laden. They're not certainly the worst in the genre and fit fairly well with the music but I can't help wondering if they could've been done differently or just plain left off. Still a nice listen, with the downside of possibly being incomplete.

Valkyrjens Fugler #1

Valkyrjens Fugler fanzine, issue 1 (late 1995)
Interviews:
Einherjer
Mortiis
Impure Creations Records
Solistitium Records
Abyssic Hate
Zephyrous
Theatre of Tragedy
Thy Sinister Bloom
Bethzaida
Perished
Ancient
Solstice
Satyricon
Setherial
Tenebras Omnia Vincit
Emperor
Isvind
Cruachan
Gehenna
Funeral
Demonic
Troll (Åfjord)
Forgotten Woods
Yersinia Pestis
Primordial
+ old (obviously!) news, reviews, yet ANOTHER Irish scene report, various articles and band bios

Mega

Here's another 'zine post and yes, I am aware it's third Norwegian one in a row. Sometimes things just turn out this way. Again I got this from brother passetiermes, I am ever grateful for the opportunity to borrow the 'zines! Valkyrjens Fugler was a rather ambitious effort by one Gro Husmo, who apparently was quite well-acquainted to Oðinn of Mimes Brunn / Einherjum (in-)fame. Perhaps they were dating, don't know? But this is not a soap, so enough gossip, fortunately even if there are some visual cues the 'zine is not that heavily Einherjum-influenced. A scattering of smallish articles and a couple of longer ones (one on Grieg, another on progressive rock, Friedrich Nietzsche, the swastika, Henrik Ibsen and so on) are to be found amongst the quite interesting interviews. There's also a Norwegian Mimes Brunn bit and an amusing special about the unfair treatment of the black metal (and related) people by Norwegian police! I wouldn't call this a black metal fanzine since as you may notice there are bands of various other genres present and the editor seems to be rather enamoured by gothic and electronic sounds as well, like was the style of the times to then alarmingly rising degree. And we know what then happened! Right, this was also the only issue of VF if I recall correctly, enjoy yet another trip in time!

Occult - Live Demo 1992

Occult - Live Demo I 1992 ("Black Flame Fest" in Elsoo, Holland 8th August 1992)
1) Intro
2) The Return of the Mystic Demon
3) Thou Art Lord
4) Dwell Forever in Darkness
5) Jaws of Satan
6) Darkness Begins
7) So It Is Done
8) Their Pain Can Begin
9) Jaws of Satan (encore)
10) Thou Art Lord (encore)

Depositfiles

Recent end of the millennium era posts have been circling the swollen, putrid corpse of the 20th century like a flock of vultures and I'm getting a little uncomfortable with that. So let us dive into the comfortable embrace of the early 90's once again with this nostalgic live item which is not exactly a contribution nor anything like that, rather I picked it up from sister Borderline's blog and decided to post it eventually here to complete the mini-cycle of the Occult live demos. Or not really since I still have a rehearsal tape (thanks Grev!) to do. So this is not my rip, don't know whose either, I edited it a little by dividing it into individual songs. Thanks anyways to B for fulfilling an old and strangely evasive request of mine! A cover image is included.

If you have heard the second live demo I suppose you know what to expect here; simple and in your face old schoolish black metal played with youthful passion and enthusiasm. It's utterly charming and clumsy, like a duckling waddling towards the pond with an uneven but determined gait. Sephiroth's speeches in between the songs fill me with a warm, nostalgic feeling and make me wonder what would have the guys thought if they had been shown how things were, say, 5 years ago? Or 15? I especially like the part after "Jaws of Satan" where he singles out The Unsane from the crowd. And the intro to "So It Is Done" is also great, you better know that tape bitches! As with the second live demo they play covers of Acheron (tracks 3 and 7 and 10 yet again) and Sathanas (5 and again 9), which I've always found to be very interesting choices. According to PFH#2 interview, their later set included also covers of Slayer ("Raining Blood") and Mayhem ("The Freezing Moon") which I would've liked to hear, too bad they didn't release a third live demo. But if someone happens to have their old live tapes get in touch! Um, where was I... yeah this tape, the sound is comparable to the second one and actually at times even better? I don't really need to write much more, this is really a fun item if you can appreciate it and you probably know already by now if you want it or not! Recommended for people into the old Dutch bm scene.

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.

Mons - Dreams of Serene Beyond demo 2001

Mons - Dreams of Serene Beyond demo I 2001
1) Intro
2) Heretics of Orleans
3) My Sign
4) Host of Grand Spirit / Divinity
5) Into the Serene Beyond
6) Voyage into the Distant Dreams
7) Outro

Mega / Yandex

Here's another obscure Finnish offering which has been standing ready in a folder for longer than necessary, an item brother Grev dubbed me months ago, this is the first (and only) demo of the Gehinnom member Mons' solo project, unsurprisingly named after himself. Or actually it looks like he had this band before joining Gehinnom. Anyways, one-man effort and Grev included scans of both cover and lyrics sheet, so thanks again!

If you look at the running time, this could easily be a cassette album at over 40 minutes. And yes, it means long tracks, numbers four and six both are over 9½ minutes long. The neat cover adds to the illusion, but once you start listening you'll notice the sound is definitely in the demo tape category. Not bad, really, but very clearly not a studio product. Music is of the melodic/atmospheric dark metal school which means here plenty of synths and slowish midtempo pace. Programmed drums and harsh black metal vocals which sound surprisingly good and make me want to hear his performance with Gehinnom. The synths dominate most of the time, fortunately they don't have that annoying circus sound so no problem for me. The drum machine is a touch more annoying, especially the really dodgy bits on third track. Songwriting is a little challenging as there are many pretty clumsy bits and then again some really cool moments, like the almost-oriental flavours on the fourth track. If you're not a seasoned veteran of cheesy, practically synth-but-still-sort-of-metal solo projects you might cringe more than a few times listening through this. If you're like me and have a soft spot for these things, grab it and enjoy!

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.

Holocaust - Kampfzeit demo 1999

Holocaust (pol) - Kampfzeit demo IV 1999
1) Northern Might of Iron Legion
2) The Return of the Pagan Warriors
3) Frozen Land
4) The Oak

RGhost / Mediafire

You probably thought I wouldn't post anything this Friday night? Wrong! Here's the last item from Poland's Holocaust I am presently able to deliver, the fourth and final demo which I again got in two versions, thanks to both contributors but I decided to upload the latter one (which for my convenience was already divided into separate tracks). Sadly this was made from a dub so no covers and as in my extremely quick and sloppy inter net sweep I was unable to find any cover images, I decided to slap the Metal Archives pic of the Holocaust fellow up there until someone shows up with proper scans.

So this later stuff is very much more in the pagan black metal camp than the charming early production. Three long (6min+) songs and one short. I'm right now drinking vodka and listening to Bathory so you have to excuse me for not providing an accurate description but I'm pretty sure it picked up from where the previous demo (here) left off and as usual the old stuff was probably better. I think the sound was ok, not as intriguing as the previous demo... well since I'm not obviously going to check what I'm talking about you're better off downloading this yourselves! Recommended for Polish 90's scene maniacs, the odd Holocaust fan and people who enjoy extremely vague descriptions. And vodka.