Runemagic - Fullmoon Sodomy adv. tape '92

Runemagic - Fullmoon Sodomy advance tape for EP 1992/93
1) Fullmoon Sodomy
2) Desecration of the White Christ
3) In Remembrance

Yandex / 4shared

Inspired by the advance section of the Exstinctio Sensus 'zine posted the other day I decided to do one here at the Coven too since I do have quite a few advance tapes ripped. First we have Runemagic of Sweden again, I posted their live tape just last month. See that post for crapload of background information on both the band and these recordings. Long story short, had ripped this as an unidentified tape B-side, got a revelation and remembered what it was, we're here. I've no proper cover for this version so used the Swedish tape version from M.A.

I believe this was sent as advance tape for 7"EP (the Polish bootleg version I suppose) but it is really just the demo recording with nothing done to it, except one song (Nocturnal Creation) being left out, most likely due timing constraints. Note that the Metal Archives tracklisting for the demo, or more like the song lengths therein, are incorrect. The source tape must've been this same which makes me wonder if the demo was ever actually released complete? That tracklisting divides In Remembrance into two and tries to pass off its second, keyboard part as Nocturnal Creation which as we learn from the quite recent Bandcamp release is actually 7+ minute song. Or perhaps the contributor had a dub of this and cover of the Chaos Productions version which was complete but circulated less? Who knows, I don't. Old era Runemagic in general seems to be more unknown than I expected.

This was supposed to be short but seems like this band drives me to ramble more than usual. Ok, contents quickly: sound is pretty murky but definitely much cleaner than the live tape, a little stuffy and with prominent low end. A lot of it has to do with tape wear obviously. Title track is a long one, over seven and half minutes, bouncy brisk midtempo effort with some breaks and changes in pace. Very good black metal rasp, grating and drawling at appropriate times. Robert "Reaper" Pehrsson was also responsible for the vocals on the first two Deathwitch albums as well as presently in Death Breath and some other projects in very different vein. I'm digressing again!!! Ugh, yeah so Desecration of the White Christ is a fast paced, shorter song in old school black metal vein and was reused for Deathwitch later and In Remembrance is another shortish piece divided into two parts; slower and epic metal half and a synth part that reminds me of vintage horror movies. Good stuff and I really like his voice, I just wish I had a slightly better rip or even better the Chaos Prods tape itself. If you have it, get in touch, rich rewards await. And I want the rehearsal tapes too. Very much recommended!

Exstinctio Sensus #1

Exstinctio Sensus fanzine, issue 1 (1995)
Interviews:
Nåstrond
Sorhin
Obtained Enslavement
Mortiis
Forgotten Woods
Einherjer
Manes
Demonic
Satariel
Hades
Setherial
Funeral Winds
Articles:
Gehenna
Graveland
Lord of Evil
Tha-Norr
Osculum Infame
Arckanum
Nauthis
Incitatus
Vergelmer
Sabbathan
Cacophonous Records
Ancient
Liar of Golgotha
Darkwoods My Betrothed
Mastiphal (Katowice)
Ulver
Megiddo (UK)
Vlad
Dark Funeral
Impurity
Illska
Troll (Aafjord)
"From Xmas to Solar Rites..." by Darkarts
Zephyrous
Wintergods
"The Church of Satan or the Pure Evil Swindle" by Se Irim Abrahel
Funerary Call
Prophanity
Aeternus
Murder Rape
Dies Irae (nor)
Abigail
Necromicon
The Helheim Society
Veles
+ "advances" section, "In the Mist of My Grief" poem, Darkthrone press statement, Bathory lyrics, English translations of Varg's lyrics for Darkthrone & Burzum...

Mega

How about some reading? Here's another classic-era 'zine, first issue of the Spanish black metal fanzine Exstinctio Sensus who, like was the somewhat unfortunate style of the times, were extremely Norge-centric. Or more fairly Scandinavian-focused since out of the twelve interviews six are Norwegian, four Swedish, one Dutch and then there's Mortiis. My scans, made last summer when I borrowed this 'zine from comrade Kurgan or more specific from his mate. Thanks, gents!

Besides the dozen interviews there are several, usually short, articles/bios of bands and unfortunately once again many of the most interesting names are in this section. How unfortunate but not surprising. And again no support for their local scene in any form, then again there was not much to talk about at that time, in the black metal field. If you don't mind the Norway-worship it is a good 'zine with a pleasant, clear old school lay-out and above average content in general. Notably they have no separate reviews here, but they go over most bands' (most recent) release either in the introduction of the interview or in the article. The interviews range from very good (Nåstrond, Sorhin, Setherial) to usual, okay stuff to underwhelming and really bad (Demonic being once again the worst). Generally you'll notice the usual pattern here how Norwegian bands used to give quite poor answers in interviews, especially with foreign 'zines. Enough talk, read for yourself, despite my usual bitching it's extremely recommendable!

Sabbathan - Satanic's Ritual's demo '93

Sabbathan - Satanic's Ritual's demo I 1993
1) Basilicam Dei Luciferi
2) Aker Leze
3) Egolatria in Pentagram

Mediafire / Zippyshare

I wanted to do a synth-thingy today and chose to finally go for it and post this sending by brother Baldemar (thanks for the rip!) despite being somewhat uncertain of it. Remember Masthema Sancia's Sabbathan featured earlier here? Well, I got this rip here from B. without a tracklisting and vague description of demo '95 but that didn't seem to fit so I made an educated guess this is actually the first demo "Satanic's Ritual's" and '93 changing to '95 a typical tape trading mishap. The first demo and "The Fury of the Storms" which I already had were the only releases listed with three songs so based on that and the sound I'm semi-confident my guess is right. Obviously if you know better (and have proof) be kind and correct me. Cover image borrowed from the Archives once again.

Comparing to the promo track these have a much more obscure sound, with the keyboard being more prominent and vocals almost completely buried below them, a whisper most of the time instead of the clear voice on the promo or the black metal rasp of "The Fury" tape. The sound is sort of crude with the keys sounding almost piercing from time to time, giving a sort of uneasy feeling to the listener which should be a positive factor for this kind of music. I'm actually getting more of a cold space ambient vibe rather than ritual musick from this. "Anti-cosmic dark ambient" to counter Apeiron's "cosmic light ambient"?  Or maybe some kind of  Lovecraftian visions? No, I'm not on drugs. Whatever, nothing Aztecy here either, purely Satanic ritual black ambient. If you have the last tape "Lust & Pain" please get in touch.

Krypteia - Hellenic Martial Virtue demo '04

Krypteia - Hellenic Martial Virtue demo 2004
1) Remembrances...
2) Wolf (Child of the Dead Ones)
3) Acherontas Dried Up for Us
4) A Storm That Sweeps All
5) Your Ashes in Tartatus Will Remain
6) ...of Times to Come

Depositfiles / Sendspace

Let's leap forward in time ten years (from the '94 of last posts not the present!) all the way to 2004 and down to Greece from where brother unholydeath's sending Krypteia hails. Thank you for the rip and scan! Krypteia was/is (? status unclear) a two-man unit featuring the former Stutthof drummer Thyrane Sigel, known also for doing live percussion for Der Stürmer and another fellow called Tyrtaios. The name of the demo and bands mentioned so far might give an idea what sort of stuff we have here; raw and warlike Hellenic black metal which pretty much translates as nsbm. Familiar names also pop up on the covers.

A martial intro and outro, four songs of medium running time. Very loud and booming, somewhat messy sound, I think it's ripped at slightly too loud volume (nope, was confirmed it's the mastering - most apparent on the intro and outro) which of course further underlines the violent nature of the music. Vocals seem to be quite heavily effected and end up buried in the wall of guitar and bass storm. It has variation, not just fervent fast-paced charge but can't still call it catchy and casual listening. For people into Hellenic traditions, name-dropped bands and raw black metal in general.

Yggdrasil - The Renaissance of the Norse Horde promo '94

Yggdrasil - The Renaissance of the Norse Horde promo 1994
1) The Renaissance of the Norse Horde

RGhost / Yandex

Remember when I wrote in the last post: "...with room for an obscure filler track, maybe I should post such next..."? Well, I decided to do just that, seeing that master Fenrirsson had sent me a very appropriate item with the Bestial Warlust rip the other month! Right, this is the mysterious, curious, cryptic, enigmatic, wrapped in mystery, veiled in secrecy and shrouded in obscurity Yggdrasil of Denmark and what appears to be their only recording, a one-song promo tape from '94. Ok, they're not that esoteric and I used mystery twice, there's a Metal Archives entry after all but hardly any proper information. Even the Danish trader comrade of F knew nothing else about them. Obviously no cover, logo or band pic, and any or all would be welcome.

So it's kvlt and obskvre but is it any good? Yeah, not bad at all! Raw, decent sound, mostly fast paced Scandinavian-style black metal with some melodies, aggressive black metal rasps and compact playtime of under four minutes and even slight variation though delicious repetition is prominent. I wonder if in some tomb, ruin or catacomb another recording might lurk buried by dust and bones? For now it's really a one-hit wonder and worth checking out, there's not that much vintage Danish black metal about.

Fulgor - Our 10 Urphar Visions demo '94

Fulgor - Our 10 Urphar Visions demo IV 1994
1) The Whispering Waters
2) Legend
3) Bachbakuala-Nuksiwäe
4) Fire (The Trilogy of Fire & Ice - pt. I)
5) Ice (The Trilogy of Fire & Ice - pt. II)
6) The Unation (The Trilogy of Fire & Ice - pt. III)
7) October 1844
8) I'm the Tears in Your Eyes
9) Lust, Flesh & Force
10) Mountains

Rusfolder / Mega

Another contribution and a thing I had been after for quite long, this is the fourth and final Fulgor demo, a two-man project already familiar to the Coven. Hmm, with Yappy's blog gone, I wonder if I should post Misfits' rip of the EP here too? But we weren't supposed to talk about that, focus, this rip was sent already early last year but I took my sweet time to get posting as I was hoping for a bit larger cover scan. But we'll make do with the tiny image, thanks anyways to the sender. If anyone can contribute a larger, more clear image would appreciate it. Also, did it have lyrics on the back?

Like "To Be One with the Stars..." this is a long demo, filling up a side of the ol' 90-min tape (with room for an obscure filler track, maybe I should post such next) and giving several albums a run for their money. In duration, obviously, not sound which is decent enough and clear. Musically this is, obviously, between the '93 tapes and the "Eyequinox" EP though nowhere near as trippy as that was. Tempo is most of the time leisurely slow to almost brisk midtempo and varying vocal styles are employed, from singsongy croak to so-and-so clean voice to whispers to howls and so forth. Guitars make a pleasant buzz, synths sound appropriately cheap, the programmed percussion is buried in the soft fuzz. Interludes and parts vary from vaguely ambient to the suddenly wave-y The Unation, the longest track I'm the Tears in Your Eyes sounds almost industrial and Lust, Flesh & Force goes all German in the tastefulness department. The demo manages to sound more cohesive than my description might lead you to believe. Not very evil or even that dark to be honest, but there is a special sort of feel to it. With a few edits it'd be great. Recommended for the fans of Fulgor, old Deutsch demos and the bizarre.

Chors - Słowiańska chwała demo 1995

Chors - Słowiańska chwała demo 1995
1) Tam, gdzie cień mrokiem zachodzi, gdzie płoną wrota niebios
2) Ogień pogańskiej wiary
3) Lasy Rastemburg
4) Władca piorunów
5) Chors
6) Zapomniane imperium

Yandex / Zippyshare

It's a new year or has been for several days already as I'm a bit behind my self-made schedule. Without further ado, here's the first entry for this year and it's Polish black metal contributed at my request by comrade LKS last year, thanks for finally letting me hear a complete version of this! You see I've had a slightly incomplete (read: half of it, first three tracks I think) version of the only demo released by Kętrzyn's Chors since '96 or so and only a few years ago noticed the fact when I was about to rip it. Tape trading issues. Anyways, this was a one-shot by Pagan Temple / Blackthorn members teaming up with a fellow called Natang. Speaking of Pagan Temple I was pretty sure I had the '95 demo "Fullmoon" but can't seem to locate it. Might've been lost with the HD a few years past. I could use a rip of that one. No proper cover scan, used Metal Archives pic.

Musically this is labeled at the Archive as pagan black metal and I suppose it's close enough, especially since the subject matter would seem to be Slavonic paganism. Musically I'd say this is closer to Blackthorn than Pagan Temple (though I can't compare to "Fullmoon" demo) and sounds slightly better than either, simply by adding a third musician the sound is much "fuller" though stays in the cutting, thin rehearsal region. Vocals are the near-hysterical Burzum-school shrieks and screams familiar from their other bands. Tracks 3 and 5 are instrumental, the later being a synth piece and what else to say... well, I like this. Don't remember if this and related bands made into the TTOF-banlists or not but if you enjoy old and raw, Polish black metal you'll want to check this out.