Skip to main content <#maincontent> We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us! Internet Archive logo A line drawing of the Internet Archive headquarters building façade. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Upload icon An illustration of a horizontal line over an up pointing arrow. Upload User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up | Log in Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker. Audio Software icon An illustration of a 3.5" floppy disk. Software Images icon An illustration of two photographs. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. More Hamburger icon An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. Internet Archive Audio Live Music Archive Librivox Free Audio Featured * All Audio * This Just In * Grateful Dead * Netlabels * Old Time Radio * 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings Top * Audio Books & Poetry * Computers, Technology and Science * Music, Arts & Culture * News & Public Affairs * Spirituality & Religion * Podcasts * Radio News Archive Images Metropolitan Museum Cleveland Museum of Art Featured * All Images * This Just In * Flickr Commons * Occupy Wall Street Flickr * Cover Art * USGS Maps Top * NASA Images * Solar System Collection * Ames Research Center Software Internet Arcade Console Living Room Featured * All Software * This Just In * Old School Emulation * MS-DOS Games * Historical Software * Classic PC Games * Software Library Top * Kodi Archive and Support File * Vintage Software * APK * MS-DOS * CD-ROM Software * CD-ROM Software Library * Software Sites * Tucows Software Library * Shareware CD-ROMs * Software Capsules Compilation * CD-ROM Images * ZX Spectrum * DOOM Level CD Books Books to Borrow Open Library Featured * All Books * All Texts * This Just In * Smithsonian Libraries * FEDLINK (US) * Genealogy * Lincoln Collection Top * American Libraries * Canadian Libraries * Universal Library * Project Gutenberg * Children's Library * Biodiversity Heritage Library * Books by Language * Additional Collections Video TV News Understanding 9/11 Featured * All Video * This Just In * Prelinger Archives * Democracy Now! * Occupy Wall Street * TV NSA Clip Library Top * Animation & Cartoons * Arts & Music * Computers & Technology * Cultural & Academic Films * Ephemeral Films * Movies * News & Public Affairs * Spirituality & Religion * Sports Videos * Television * Videogame Videos * Vlogs * Youth Media Search the history of over 835 billion web pages on the Internet. Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Mobile Apps * Wayback Machine (iOS) * Wayback Machine (Android) Browser Extensions * Chrome * Firefox * Safari * Edge Archive-It Subscription * Explore the Collections * Learn More * Build Collections Save Page Now Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Please enter a valid web address * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People * Sign up for free * Log in Search metadata Search text contents Search TV news captions Search radio transcripts Search archived web sites Advanced Search * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People Full text of "Thrashing Rage zine Issue XIII (1999) " See other formats , Ie ing ™ ge Litterae XHHH Anno 1999 ABIGOR MORTIIS SUMMONING ENTHRONED UNHOLY NOKTURNAL KEEP > OF KALESSIN TAAKE EWIGKEIT EMPYRIUM _ DARK SANCTUARY Hntroduction Contents She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and manna dew ; And sure in language strange she si T love thee true!' La Belle ¢ Jame Sans Merci at-drins, The sedge is wit 5 Shetook me to her elfin grot, And no; - And there she gazed and sigh'd full sore, Aid there I shut her wild wild eyes Vith Risses four. O what can ail t So haggard and s The squirrel's ‘And the her there she lulled me asleep, And there - ah ! woe betide ! The latest dream I ever dream’d On the cold fill side. I saw pale kings and princes,too, le warriors, death-pale were they all; ‘They cred -'La Belle Dame sans merci Thee hath in thrall’ Full beautiful a fae hee hath in thrai Her hair as tong, fo : I saw their stary'd lips in the gloam, And her eyes were : ” With horrid warning gaped wide, And I awoke, and found me here, On the cold hill side. I made a garland for her head, And bracelets too, and fragrant zone ; She look'd at me as she did love, 3 And this ts why I sojourn here, And made sweet moan. ~ Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is wither'd Srom the lake, And no birds sing. I set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long, For sideways would she lean, and sing A faery's song. John Keats “Les seuls vivants méritant le nom d'Artistes sont les créateurs, ceux, qui éveillent des impressions intenses, inconnues et sublimes, Les autres ?... Quiimporte!“ Vilhers De L'Isle-Adam THRASHING RAGE pages ine B.P. 934 73009 CHAMBERY CEDEX FRANCE 4 TEL/FAX : +33 4 79 69 38 74 E-mail : trage @wanadoo.fr Publisher, Editor, Writer : Laurent MICHELLAND Assistants : Florence POPOVICS Frédéric DESCHAMPS © biqor is a Demon of war, a commander of the leqions of Satan. He possesses the knowledge of all wars - past, present and futu- re. Che music of the Austrian trio ts extreme and technical, com- bintng traditional black metal with experimental elements. Those musi- cians are not of this earth, but rather from the end and the beqinning of all time. A place of motionless storms where stars ave plentiful and bright. Dialogue with P.K. (guitars) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND Silenius left ABIGOR during the recording of "Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan". Could you tell us more about the exact reasons that led to his departure ? Silenius told us that he could no longer identify himself with black metal and ABI- GOR, because he hadn't been listening to this musical style for more than two years. According to him, "Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan" was a too complex and technical album to find suitable vocal lines. But we expected such a step anyway, because the same kind of thing had already happened in 1998, during the recording sessions of "Supreme Immortal Art". He had also cancelled a studio date, so we knew that something would happen with him sooner or later. It is.a pity that he didn't inform us earlier about his will to part with the band. Anyhow, we accept his deci- sion : Silenius is still a friend of us, but he chose another way... The band's new vocalist and bass player, Thurisaz, was also involved in AMESTIGON and HEIDENREICH in the past... In our opinion, Thurisaz is a very good musician, with the right mental philosophy and a voice that fits perfectly to our art, so it was the one and only solution for ABI- GOR. Thurisaz' voice sounds far more aggressive than Silenius' ever was. He wor- ked out all his vocal lines, while Silenius just improvised a main part of the songs, which was sometimes great but sometimes not that good. So Thurisaz worked in a more professional, and even better way. Silenius left the band, it's a fact, but it won't cause any decrease of our musical stan- dard because he never wrote lyrics of composed a single note for an ABIGOR song. "Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan" offers very technical black metal with a transparent and powerful production that creates sonorous soundscapes played in the pure ABIGOR style, but relea- sed in a more untypical way than before... | agree that we developed into a more powerful and complex direc- tion, even if it wasn't a goal we strove for, it just happened, and we are very satisfied with the final result. The main difference compared to our pre- vious releases is that we worked with three guitar lines throughout : “Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan’. on "Supreme Immortal Art", we used the keyboards as a kind of additional istrument whil e there are no synth parts on the new album because this instrument the forces of darkness... re the experience of life with all those topics you refer to because REICH a different band with different influences and ways topics form our lyrical influences is that ABIGOR stands as a black Metal unites music with extreme mental values. There is a kind of war within those who try to find an individual way of life, the war of being able t ve, to free the mind of all boundaries, or being trapped in this three di world. It is the mental struggle for individuality and the a» & nation. : Satan is all and nothing, the changing and the oe behind the shadows, the subconscious power within yoursel you call your Lord... Satanist is a suitable, but unfortunately also a very definite form of fese ‘ dogma | believe in. | do see myself as a Satanist, because a lot of people wouldn understand my real goals and philosophies, maybe “magician” would be very, Oty - even more suitable as well. The problem is that occultism contents a : source of wisdom and information and too many persons wouldn't be able to hai le and to understand that at all. It doesn't consist of ve belief prUsed C) and Satan. : - There must be a balance within the universe, which means nee cant be only posi- _ tive or negative energies. One can't exist without the other, and that's my personal difference from most of the so called Satanists because they have been corrupted by the pestilence that infected the heart of Europe, that is to say Christianity. This religion states that there is a battle between what is good and evil, which is simply wrong. You have to accept both forces within yourself, both the pa and oe ve aspects, and to think with whom you shall work. If you were king for a day, what would be your first and final act ? | found and chose my very personal way of life several years ago, and today | live in a kind of inner harmony :! am one with the cosmic powers, with myself and with the might of Satan. | really don't care about today's mass consumer society, with its morals, and idiotic views on religion, pity, and all the other we important for them. | would really enjoy to see the end of mankin that! and final act would be to reduce the world population to 20% of it's daily volume. DENREICH offers a more experimental state of music than more untypical riffs and song structures in the compositions. grammed drums, samples, strange synths and effect: 2 about live concerts in general, | dont ket are just a waste of work and energy for noth shed and Besed all the work | had done on ‘The Stargate" so far. So | had to begin all over again. Awhile later, | decided that | wanted to look for ‘was a bit of debating with Cold Meat Industr months of negotiations with Earache Records of 1998 had arrived, and the actual release September 1999. "The Stargate” was actually r May 1998, though. Lately, | decided to quit my o FATA MORGANA and CINTECELE DIAVOULI i in order to spend more time with MORTIIS and try to make that as good as possible. Why did you decide to quit Dark é ortits, the concept born of dissatisfaction, Desire and Demen- Pyngeon Music and to sign with Bl tia is a being like no other, with a story to tell that knows no ~=Nottingham based label Earache end. Neither in this world or the next, the space in time that Records ? he occupies ig one there the imagination is Ring, and the farthest reaches First, | saw my music turning to nothing of the mind is God. Mortis is a concept that allows anvthing to become a because | didn't have enough time on my possibility, where the onlp restraint ts the limits the creator imposes on hands to really sit down and work on It. | ' : gs a. Then, | got really bored to deal with disho- himself. Whe ultimate example of creation replacing creator. nest distributors who didn't pay their bills. Basically, the whole business around the label Dialogue with Mortiis really disgusted me. immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND So | sent out promos to a lot of labels, and Earache Records was ‘the most interesting record company that responded in a positive way. Debuting with the monotone "Fodt Til A Herske", Earache Records has been a personal favourite label of mine fora the whole shadowy concept of MORTIIS took fur- ong time. | looked forward to working with a label that understood - ther shape with the second chapter "Anden Som and was enthusiastic about my music. | then signed a four album Gjorde Oppror"... deal with the English label, the first release being the long awaited Slowly a new world was taking form, one in which the "The Stargate", quickly to be followed by the reissue of “Crypt Of The only God was the mind and its ultimate expansion. Wizard" on Halloween. The reissue will feature completely new art- The archaic ambient nature of the music shrouded work. To me, "The Stargate" is my personal soundtrack to a journey the world of ——— — — between worlds different MORTIIS in more obscuti- 5 paws BESS, 8S EG ies than this. "Crypt Of The ty, and the outrageous ae, he Se SC as Wizard" is a document of persona | had adopted still Bi 6 4 nee my past, the way MOR- seemed at odds with the a TIIS used to be. music. ee . My third exploration, From a fusical and lyri- "Keiser Av En Dimensjion " cal point of view, “The Ukjent", showed greater oo, ¥ Stargate” brings us to signs of progression, but age > the most varied view of ultimately still left people Si your other world... — confused. What was es ; “The Stargate" is easily | ee aa ie | Cm my most ambitious oe u ? = to date, this album andits | think that my ambition x vivid live translation is the ee hs with the be — continuation of the MOR- — se of five separate 12" mS Oe ae TIIS chronicles, set in a singles, ultimately collec- Roe _ dimension where imagina- ted under the title "Crypt ae tion is King and the mind Of The Wizard", works q Ree - : i is God. that finally developed the : iain J | think that the songs and ~ ies, oo x structures are a lot more world, ruled by imagina- ; mature than before. tion and vision, a place Obviously, the added where the human is repla- we * vocals give the whole pro- ced by the alter-ego. : duction a totally new dimension. Except for the After the "Crypt Of The backing vocals, this time Wizard" album, some the vocals are not perfor- time was actually spent og : med by myself but | by a on trying to figure out the first few MORTIS shows that you ever did... female and a male voca- — list because | didn't consi- der my voice good enough to do that sort of thing. — After that, | started wor- Sarah Jezebel also sings king on material for “The — for CRADLE OF FILTH gate", and also did and THERION, and has f work for my now defunct label Dark Dungeon Music. | spent been doing stuff for COVENANT while Kalle Metz plays in TENEBRE ight to twelve hours of work on it every day. | also recorded and a couple of other bands. ed Demon" with VOND and the “Space Race" 7" with FATA _ | think that the integration of female vocals has brought many varia- habit : a time of lone- : ess, grim contempla- on and endless jour- — inding answers to it all... “The Stargate" relates tales of grim journeys, hard fought battles and grim contemplation, cloa- ked with a mythological backdrop of pseudo-reali- ty. For the world we are allowed to see is one that we can never inhabit, being exclusively the domain of MORTIIS him- self, a world where my fantasies are given wings. As| listeners all you can do is wonder at what takes place in my head, what made me this way : the answers are not easily found. Reconciling the sounds | experience through “The _ Stargate" with the shocking image that | portray in not easy either. Only by surrendering to your own mind-god, and maybe creating your own nether-world, can you come close to _ appreciating the experiences that | convey through my schizoid existence. Shall we see the new album as the first part of a complete saga ? Yes, you are right. | plan to record at least one sequel to "The Stargate’. In a nutshell, the album is about the journey to a gate made of stars, in der to travel between existence so rom those with book "Secrets Of My Kingdom", you say that "MORTIIS is your alter ego, he is your essence and in so being you are inseparable”. Could you develop this statement ? After seven years of sear- ching for the answer to who or what or why MOR- TIS is, | just realized that MORTIIS . has’ always been me and | have always been him, we were one and the same. | started and headed to who knows where 2 - eG Ree ollowing thetr own instincts, Silenius and Protector create a whole world where music flows and dreams. Summoning's artistic expression knows no bounds, no obstacles : this ts the crown of their creation. Through a climax of musical independence and freedom, their majestic, epte and medieval compositions are bound to triumph. Off the qround and far away... Forever... Dialogue with Silenius (bass, keyboards, vocals) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND After the release of "Dol Guldur", you decided to get away from the musical scene for a while... | fell into a kind of looking for creativity and inspiration, and so | decided to relax. Of course, | was not totally away from the music world : I tried to work for the dark wave ritual project MIRKWOOD, but | had too many troubles, so | stopped it again later on that year. | also did the vocal lines for the new ABIGOR release "Supreme Immortal Art", and since it was done very quickly, it didn't bring me too much work. Meanwhile, Protector was working with his own bands ICE AGES and DIE VER- BANNTEN KINDER EVAS. All in all, | didn't have many contacts with him during that period. Most of the songs on "Stronghold" were composed during a very short time at the end of 1998. Since then, | was motivated again, full of ideas and ins- piration. On "Stronghold", you paid more attention to the guitar work, the whole album sounding heavier than "Minas Morgul" and "Dol Guidur”... As the guitar took over the leading r they fit better with the keyboard sounds. hypnotic a monotonous but neverth lyrical concept is again bast and doesn't deal with con SUMMONING's music s realms of Tolkien’ Ss worl tener... tasy cartoon Fire and bs and of course: Lord ly inspired by them. When listening to "Stronghold", one has the feeling of a mountain with a blood sword i in one's byaen: ) scapes... If you have seen such images, SUMMONING's music | as the and you are welcomed on our path towards eternity. | think that to get the ce out of our music, you have to listen to our songs on a wal on a mountain trip. The combination of musical stimulation a tion of wide open untouched landscapes is the perfect conbination: to get special ancient feeling and to drown into a daydream. This combination betw wanderlust and dark emotions of high adventure also plays a dominant role whi : reading Tolkien's books. After all, our music was made for the. individual, S0 thatit doesn't fit with parties at all. The lyrical concept of "Stronghold" should have been based on the Nibelungen concept... The problem was that the concept was already used by a German band. We c came off the idea because we didn't want to get compared with them. So the lyrical concept is again based on Tolkien's Middle Earth saga, only in a more global way. Most of the new lyrics are directly taken from old poems and refer to the pre- ver sions of thésSilmarillion. In former times} whenlhadymore time to be on my own and when | still lived far — away from Vienna, | often took some Tolkien books with me when | was out for a walk through the Surrounding landscapes of my old small home town. Then | sat under a tree reading this or that book, not only Tolkien's, but always mythological or fantasy like b6oKs OF old German "Heldensagen". | thought that to read a book with special sufroundings around could be more impressive and force deeper impressions within your own mind. And | was right since | got very inspired by those experiences. Today, | somehow miss those times... When you were a child, your father took you to visit each castle around Austria... | Was always fascinated by these things and in what my father could tell me about all the castles and ruins. That was so because he was a professor of history. Nowadays, | don't really have time anymore to go on such excursions, and my interests also float towards other directions. | also collected a lot of medieval wea- pons during the former years, but now again, | have nearly no time for them, as well as my interests change. But of course, | will keep them to hold up high my memory. Now, | would like you to take the role of story teller and relate SUMMONING's past and present adventures... Looking back at the beginning, | can say that the debut album "Lugburz" was pri- mitive, rough and chaotic and doesn't fit at all with our other releases. We had not found our identity yet but there were already some elements that would become typical for what SUMMONING would stand for in the future. Then came "Minas Morgul", and this piece of art was for sure our masterwork. There will neverbea _ better SUMMONING release than this one. "Dol Guldur" was in a similar maybe a bit too similar, but after all, it allowed us to strengthen Ol : the underground, and all in all, it was our best selling album. With the follow mini CD “Nightshade Forests", there was a little breakdown whe poor and guitar sound destroyed a lot and people started to say t ning of the end. But after two — of silence -rom an aesthetic point of view, could you explain t haracters | who are illustrated inside the bookie ° ng was done by Lode Claes and shows Nazgul. 2 contrast of black and white. The black ring gho ] ered ee Ss is of course 7 y hirsty of blood and violence, of Domination and invasion, the Blackened horde of Enthroned murder the holy ones. Their pre - ponderant fast and malicious black metal attacks are fierce wea - pons unleashed upon the tqnorant, weak human vace. "Che Apocalypse flanifesto" gives an tmmortal lust for the eternal abyss, through bellish thundering hymns of tar. Dialogue with Nornagest (lead guitar, backing vocals) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND With the release of "The Apocalypse Manifesto", ENTHRONED has stayed true to its style and has become different from other bands. caine Is it the way you perceive the sense of musical evolution ? Yes, you are right. We have been practising the latest tracks since the "Towards The Skullthrone Of Satan" period along with the tracks from the mini album. We worked very hard on this album. Tracks like "The Apocalypse Manifesto" or "Volkermord" were written one year and half ago and we just worked and worked until the songs sounded perfect to us. The same goes for the rest of the album except for the hidden track, “Anal Lust", which was writ- ten during the recording sessions. | honestly think that we chose the right We push the limits to the maximum but still Today, | think it's hard to find a band that sound ve parts but also on the slower ones... Speed doesn't necessarily equal ie brutality. | not brutal enough for my taste. We just let ~ fa f ENTHRONED's music is the result. We play what we fe impact comes from. We don't play to earn money, just f play for ourselves and that's the most important og After the release of "Prophecies Of Pagan Fire", you have decreased the use of keyboards in your compositions. Could you explain why ? Because our songs no longer need synth passages. We tried this instrument 7 on the "Prophecies Of Pagan Fire” album as the songs were darker than bru- tal then. It sounded quite good and really dark but now the keyboards don't fit” anymore to ENTHRONED's music. | actually doubt if we will use it again, except for an intro or something like this. — Dedicated to the deceased Cernunnos, do you see the "Regie Sathanas" mini CD as a distinct release in ENTHRONED's collection ? : Yes, definitely. It's a tribute to our brother who left this world to find another one. Cernunnos was so dedicated to the scene and to Satan that we had to do this homage. Even the music is different, it's more melancholic although its still very aggressive. Pure black metal but with a special touch. The songs of "The Apocalypse Manifesto" forge an epic concept album which deals with the biblical concept of Apocalypse reinterpreted through strictly satanic views... : The whole thing deals with the Apocalypse, with the views and visions that | experienced through rituals and which showed me the other sides of the Apocalypse. The song "Death Faceless Chaos" is about a vision | had while | was "there". | saw a big faceless shadow, screaming so much that my ears were hurt. The presence was so mighty and dark that | couldn't express my joy and the shadow continually screamed "Hastur !", “Hastur!". | understood it was the name of the shadow which enveloped me and then woke up inside my pentagram. The only track that doesn't speak about the theme of the Apocalypse is "The Scourge Of God", a true story about Attila the Hun, one of the most cruel beings ever. So you see that each song of ENTHRONED has its own story of dark and unknown reality. You are a complete nihilist person, who expresses his hatred towards humanity and every weak religion, to which adhere the weak them- selves... My only wish is to see all those weak worms die in another Hiroshima. Then, I'll program a bomb to be dropped on my town. Gehenna is so much better... ENTHRONED is composed of Satanists who are also musicians. | will always. support my father now and forever. My beliefs, thoughts and hatred are truly serious and dark. The devil | know can't be compared to other forces in the universe, he is not something you can reach out and touch... Ruins and graveyards are the only places where you feel serene... | like to walk through ruins, especially old castles in England and Scotland. Bamburgh castle is a wonderful place to visit... What huge pain those people must have lived when building such marvellous monuments. | wish we could see architecture like in Rome in other places such as” a York or Pers in twenty years. : You are also deeply interested in the realm of ancient toy with ‘its artistic, mystic and occult dimensions... : The way that Imhotep built the pyramids, the colossal Ramses II statues and the mysticism behind Egyptian art are so exciting. | also appreciate the works - from Memling, Dore, Baudelaire, Zuber, Levi and a few: others. | enjoy the way these artists managed to capture the sense of the black the mixture of — beauty and darkness, disease and desire. | am also leave something behind that will reflect such impressio | designed the cover for "The Apocalypse Manif personal vision of this theme. If | were a paint probably been like this. matter is over now. NHOL omposed of sombre characters, Gnholy unites its musical past and present with an impressive collection of weird, Dramatic and refined dark doom metal compositions. for those secret indivi - Duals, the cultural element is something that is alreadp there and which Doesn't need to be emphasized. "A thought unchained, unpredictably drif- ting in wider spaces, beyond the limitations of the spirit of time..." Dialogue with Jan Kuhanen (drums) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND Many things have changed during the turbulent times between "The Second Ring Of Power" and "Rapture"... We had some personal and musical troubles which eventually put the whole band on ice. We just got fed up with each other, there were two different lines of thought within the band and neither view overcame. Or you could say that mine and |smo's views won in the end, for we now do what we wanted to do all the time. Regarding the line-up, female vocalist Veera Muhli has now become a steady member of the band, though she already appeared on "Rapture" She is young and very talented musically, especially with the piano. She's not a singer, but her fragile voice seems to fit our music quite well. UNHOLY's new release, "Gracefallen", doesn't sound so extreme as "Rapture". Nevertheless, the feeling of agony is still there... All our music is motivated by personal experiences, views and feelings. It comes from dark emotions, bright emotions, out of sorrow, as well as out of joy. Mainly the songs have a sombre tune, but just because life is often quite raw and mer- ciless. UNHOLY's music is somehow the cross cut picture of our souls, or spiri- tual sides, or about us as individuals. It is our way of seeing things. Maybe the proper term to describe our music would be the following one : highly indivi- dually reserved manifestations of personal anxiety and pain expressed through the art of music, stretching beyond the limitations of the spirit of time. From depressive harmonies to hypnotic moods, your fourth album is pla- ced under the sign of a rich diversity... UNHOLY's richness comes from the contradictions and differences that are pre- sent in the band. It's the mixture of our separate personalities. We are not homo- genous when it comes to personalities, world views, beliefs, morals... In fact, we only have two things in common : we are all part of the human race and we are in the same band. In everything else, we are like day and night. So when everybody tries to do his own thing, it all develops through chaos to orga- nised entity. Some of your lyrics are very closely derived from your personal life... So closely that I'm afraid to listen to the lyrics, or even play the songs to anyo- ne, fearing that someone will find out what I'm chasing. But you have to confront your demons if you want to get rid of them, and this is my way of doing it. Pasi writes with totally different method, but | like his lyrics very much. The title of the album is not directly related to the lyrics. "Gracefallen" describes the state of the band more than the lyrics or the music. We feel that as a band we are doomed to be forever failure, thrown into the abyss of oblivion, or something like that. Therefore... "Gracefallen". Do you sometimes get ideas from some writers and develop them further or put them into a text ? Only very rarely | can produce a text around some piece of writing. | just usual- ly steal a line or two, or a though from here and there. Mainly | got my ideas from personal experiences. If we produce some piece of music, | may listen to it for hours and hours, and eventually | get into it. Then, | produce a text on the basis of the emotions which that certain piece of music provoked in me. | could say that UNHOLY's own music is a big source of inspiration, at least for myself. On "Gracefallen", there are a few songs that develop further the ideas which were already present on “Rapture”. Otherwise, | must admit that | read a lot because of my off-band activities, but also in leisure time, | like to grab a book. | especially enjoy the works of Nietzsche and Sartre, as well as some Finnish writers, thinkers, and poets such as Linna, Leino, Linkola, Tabermann, and Tynni. Finnish people don't portray romanticism through painting, poetry or music but rather live it in their existence... We are in the romantic scenery itself, the wild men of the periphery. The Finns are one of the last people living at the edge of the nature, and it won't be long until the last one of us has shook the wolf off him. As for myself, | don't think I'm much of a romantic. None of us is, except for Veera Muhli. | see life as absurd, especially modern life, with all its extremes. An individual may seek harmony, and if he finds it, he may consider himself a lucky man. But everyday's tragedy of other people, or fiction on the other hand, help us to deal with our own detri- ments. Catharsis... To a certain degree, you are reserved individuals by nature... We don't have many friends among the other bands, partly because we don't want them, and partly because people who think like we do, or who are on the same frequency, are quite rare. | don't want to sound elitist, but we have our own way of doing things and it isn't easy for an outsider to come into terms with UNHOLY members. We don't spit to people's faces even though some would deserve it, but | think the spirit and the attitude in the band is quite unique, so that everybody coming from outside would suffer serious mental damages befo- re adapting to our systems. Would you say that UNHOLY's art symbolises your testament, your last will ? There is some point in your life when you start to realize that you won't last fore- ver, and that some things you have done or made will last longer than you. They will keep on living after you life departure. | guess everyone would like to leave behind something to be remembered of, and that is one reason for composing music. : urrounded by luxury, lost in a mystifying temple, Charmand Grimloch is the creative qhost behind Cartavos. This artist spends his inner life on an extremely different level than the outer matertal existence. He has eveated a grand, immense castle filled with his intense thoughts. His own visual realm, with pure aesthetics, where he uses and works with the qreat spiritual faculties. Dialogue with Charmand Grimloch immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND Based on visions, thoughts and inner feelings, “The Red Jewel” sounds more aggressive than "The Grand Psychotic Castle", expres- sing another form of strength... This release features a lot of layers in the mix of both symphonic key- boards and powerful guitars while it still brings the horrified sound. It is surprising in the transcendental way. The composition is based on varia- tion, which means that it takes more of your psyche to understand the wis- dom behind it. In a few words, it's faster and more metal. There are for sure many different ways to create:musie : some like to be the innovators and some prefer to be the imitators. In a certain way, | respect both of them. The innovators are those who build and create a major "geometrical" form in the cosmos whereas the imitators are those who only pick and use all the different created forms. For sure, both of these ways of making music are made from inspiration factors. It is just a question of how personal the inspiration factor is. Very often the music brings the answer to this... Talking about the inspiration matters, on can feel some aspects from old classical music on TARTAROS debut full length album... in some parts and highlights, | express my personal experiences through the theory of classical composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Hans Eisler, Lizt, the requiem of Mozart, Henryk Gurecki, Mussorsky... They really interest me with their strength and feelings of the past. | always let my mind reach another level when composing, but not by any artificial stuff such as drugs. | prefer the more spiritual way. The music of "The Red Jewel'..also.brings a lot of energy, one can say that a huge quantity of bizarre experience is translated into music, intense music. The horror aspect brings a strength from the past times, the psychedelic changes is more a state of mind thing, and the multiple moods give a taste from dif- _ ferent experiences. All this is twisted into a “geometrical” form. Your debut mini CD had been engineered by Pytten at Grieghallen Studio while you entirely produced "The Red Jewel" on your own. How did you live such an experience ? - “The Red Jewel was recorded at S.M.I studios on my own simply becau- se | wanted to create a charming horrified sound picture, which the music surely deserves. | think it was perfect to work with this in my own studio. ___ Since there is a kind of pressure when a studio is booked, | could fully “create all songs the way | wanted, with no hasty. Of course, | explored ome things that | will do different on TARTAROS' next release, such as e objective judgement in the mixing process or equipment refresh- ments. _ | soncept album, "The Red Jewel" betrays deep reflec- resort, the place where all your thoughts are gained... ints the story of old spectrals from a jewel pendant, which to a metaphysical world. A labyrinth to the red glow of pure } h is of terrifying beauty. It might be banishing or demo- | you the craft of terror and foolishness of the universe, s to grasp you sometimes. as supposed to be called "Weaving The Green d you later change the title to "The Red Jewel” ? | Light" was a description of the loom which creates and forms in the underworld. Filling creatures with a lust of transc ce, a green coloured lust of being controlled in an empire. This son too individual for the actually concept of "The Red Jewel’, so wed to delay it fo the next album. Also it requires a different sound. | huge and exceedingly powerful. Charmand, you create music with a strong connection to the world of horror, psychedelic and elegance. _ What is your own definition of those three words ? : Horror : A theatrical way to release dreads and fears. Psychedelic : A mental statement compressed and created in a manife tation. ss Elegance : A grand solemnity in some way connected to the fin : TARTAROS' personal verses basically describe the same mood, but with the use of different modes of expression... _. _ The lyrical concept of "The Red Jewel’. differs a lot from song to song. : Some of the lyrics are created from philosophizing, some summarize strange happenings, others describe wisdom and sometimes fantasy. You can say that there is a close connection between the musical dimension and the words in every song. : Besides music, | know that you also deal with antiques for a safety income... . Yes, | am very attracted to the world of antiques. It can for sure be a good investment to set your money in old things which give increase in value every year. | have a lot of old furniture, tables, chairs, glasses, mirrors... Together with TARTAROS, you also run a synth project named THE THRILL... THE THRILL is a pure classical project based on mystical aspects from the old Tivoli festivals and opera performances. You will hear all from pom- pous orchestral composition to kind of slow dreadfully jukebox playing. Some of the tracks will also bring lyrics. It's a very exciting project to work with because every track brings an indi- vidual feeling. | compose the songs with many different instruments, orchestral acoustic instruments mixed together with synthetic sounds. | experiment a lot to let the project sound like a kind of black and white soundtrack for a film performed on the stage of a large theatre. The album will be released sometime in the period of late 1999 or in the beginning of the year 2000. his time, the saviour comes from the world where landscapes are stunning and Gods are almighty. s2okturnal Mortum hails from the woods of the ancient land Oriana (now Kharkov, Ukraine). They are the embodiment of the power of the qreat culture, crea- ting their own domain and rules there. The black and white visions of a warlike horde feasting upon the weak. You will fear them... Dialogue with Knjaz Varggoth (spells, full moon mysticism, black emotions & six-roaring prophetic of devil's eminence) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND NOKTURNAL MORTUM's strength lies in your ability to integrate aggressive fast-paced black metal attack with a plethora of key- board orchestrations interlaced with a swarm of complex musical structures... The main idea behind "To The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire" was to create a third album with more apocalyp- tic moods than on "Goat Horns" and “Lunar Poetry’. We wanted to bring it closely to the essence of the black metal style. In order to reach that goal, we had to make it more extreme and aggressive. In a fierce fer- vour of moonlight metal with speeds that touch chaos, epic notes, pagan rituals and spectacular instrumenta- tion, the whole album is on fire from start to finish. The mastery of this album runs deep and dark accenting for a new revelation every time. With this supreme effort, | think NOKTURNAL MORTUM have just delivered the epitome of black metal... The two keyboards furiously weave majestic atmospheres in the background and accompany the sheer intensity of the vocal eruptions... Traditional folk elements were very difficult to convey through the use of only one keyboard, so we decided to elaborate on that process. In the new album, we will use real folk instruments plus keyboards. This way, we will be able to open the gates of Noctikula for some of you. The throne will belong to you, and Carpathian lakes will embrace your faces with their coldness. Your compositions mix grandio- se walls of orchestrated mad- ness with fast black metal art. The added plus is your great ear _ for the folk melodies of your homeland, Ukraine... From Western black metal bands, _we have a huge distinction : we still _have spirit whereas most of them don't. From Eastern European bands, it is not that distinct, but | would say that to live in Ukraine i S a unique energy, a pure om the centre of Slav culture. ~ NOKTURNAL MORTUM's music is _ based on the culture of our nation, _ including a lot of traditional folk elements. Also it is very warlike, cal- __ling for real action and it comes from our every day life. The black metal style is really popular here and gets a lot of recognition among the _fans. There are a number of very talented bands in Ukraine as well. - Sometimes, we get in trouble with our government and recently, a _ number of the "Goat Horns" tapes were seized from the store. 10 Nicely arranged and put ‘enathers: the Eastern European flavour which pa ee enigmatic darkness oozing from your region... : : As for the folk elements, we get inspiration from our nation, the natu- re of our area and from what our ancestors achieved centuries ago. We don't like many things in today's society, that's why our music isa call to take weapons and to fight. One of the most unforgettable things. for the person who listens to NOKTURNAL MORTUM for the first time is the nationalistic spirit embracing our music and lyrics. We are. really proud to perform some of the old Ukrainian folk so and it really turns people on. : : "Goat Horns" and "To The Gates Of Blasphemous” are written like perfect odes to the pagan kingdom of Veles... The general direction for our lyrics isthe Slav theme. We use a lot of folk motives that come from the history of our nation. We follow our ancestors without any compromise. “Goat Horns" incorporated pagan ideas and myths whereas "To the Gates Of Blasphemous Fire" points our enemy and our fight against him.. The kingdom of hate, anger and darkness has risen and the clock is striking the last strokes. The last minutes of liars are flowing away with the rivers of NOKTURNAL MORTUM's kingdom. With the deep will to revive the old traditions of your ancestors, you follow the nationalistic direction... The government doesn't have a lot of authority nowadays. People might achieve everything. We lose our original values and we have to protect them by all means. Our music is some kind of call to that pre- servation. NOKTURNAL MORTUM supported the pagan ideas before, however now we are closer to reality. Perun and Veles, the Ukrainian pagan gods, have exis- ted and still exist in our hearts. We see them as war- riors and hopefully, people will think of us in the same way. When a person is weak, he is unable to find any answer for himself, therefore he is seeking help. And that is what religion offers,a sanctuary for all the weak... | have got a message to address to all those who real- ly believe that Christianity must destroyed, who want to live without false and hypocrisy, who are eager to learn the eternity and who want to turn their souls to the belief of our father-gods. We want to see the sky colou- red in red by total purifying fire. Millions of stupid idiots swallow the maggots of the crucified one. Stinking water run through their veins. Their ears can hear only the sound of the weak prays. They've got to know that every lamb has to be eaten or sacrifi- ced. These poor creatures of their own imagination speak about eter- nal soul but don't realize that their souls are already dead. We're unable to count the victims of Christianity. Our hearts cry with blood when we remember the heroes who were killed. The Christians try to establish their new order and enslave many people. Wolves ! Your destiny is in your hands. This age must be burnt on a sepulchral bonfire. Taking in consideration af abi- lity to create quite : an atmosphere an epic fourth r NOKTURNAL _ Russian and > again point our enemy. As for the music, | can tell y compositions sound even more aggressive, but at the sa melodic. To end, | bless you, by the name of our ancient rits of nature and mystic eternity. Where dreams are cros lity, where rivers flow into the seas, under the black ee reign is there. n enigma which will unravel and unvetl its secrets only to the patient listener. This could be the definition of Keep OF Ralessin's second album, "Aanen - A Fourney Chrough Che Dark". So manp of the melodies are here hidden, until pou make a disco - very and then wonder how you missed them in the first place. Through moments of aveat magnificence, the mighty dragon triumphs and expresses his war crp with grandeur and decadence. Dialogue with Vyl (drums), Ghash (vocals) & Obsidian C. (guitars, synth) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND KEEP OF KALESSIN started as a two member project with Ghash and Obsidian C. under the dark monicker of ILDSKJAER back in the year 1993. Why did you later change the band's name ? Vyl :We needed an English name because ILDSKJAER didn't make sense to most people | think. KEEP OF KALESSIN is the stronghold of the eldest, evil is he, the migh- tiest of the dragons. He is the one who sings his songs of wrath. "Through Times Of War" and "Agnen" translate into music the endless adventures of this character. Why did Warach (bass) leave the band after the recording of "Agnen - A Jouney Through The Dark" ? Vyl : Warach claimed to be stuck with his job and other obscure reasons. But in my opi- nion, he parted ways with KEEP OF KALESSIN because black metal wasn't really the type of music he cherished in his heart. He also told us that he was tired of playing bass, since he is originally a guitarist. The one who replaces him is called Kesh, hut he is not a permanent member of the band. He is just a session bassist. This skilled musician has played bass for some years, even with me a while ago, and he seems to handle the musi- cal side of the band very well. Do you agree if | tell you that KEEP OF KALESSIN's compositions sound like a result of sorrow, sadness, hate and anger... Vyl : Yes, sorrow and sadness can be ecstatic if they come in the right shape and cir- cumstances, especially in music. Hate and anger are very underestimated emotions and fits great in the black metal style. These feelings contain a force which enables you to achieve things you never thought you could do. And that's positive as long as it doesn't backfire. __ Starting from October 26, 1998, you spent fourteen days at Brygga Studio to give _ shape to "Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark". uo Were you more critical towards your compositions than | aut the recording ses- sions of your debut album ? Yes, definitely. We entered the studio again during the month of December to finish the mixing. We wanted to separate the recording sessions from the mixing work because it's important to have fresh and clear ideas when giving the final sound to the album. This time, | would say that the riffs are better, the song-structure is more professional and most of all, our individual skills have increased a lot since "Through Times Of War’. We feel that the music reflects the lyrics in a much better way. Both fury and melody play an important role in the expression of "Through Times Of War" and "Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark’... Vyl : Fury does indeed play an important role in both music and lyrics. If it wasn't for vehemence and astonishment, our music would be boring. | think the outcome of the music depends on the mood you're in that particular day, so it seems that anger and frus- tration are our daily melodies here beneath the spires of Trondheim... Could you explain the odyssey that guides the compositions of your second album ? Ghash : "Agnen - a journey through the dark" is a long and intense voyage through dif- ferent landscapes and worlds. They are infested with darkness and death and it gets dar- ker and darker all the way until the end, which is what "Agnen” means. The title-track is a long composition that lasts over 11 minutes and which closes the album. Divided into two parts, It's a kind of epilogue that sumps up the concept of this musical pilgrimage. You write most of KEEP OF KALESSIN’s lyrics, taking a lot of your inspiration from Ursula Le Guin's "The Earthsea Quartet" and from your personal thoughts and moods... Ghash : | use that setting to explain emotions in real life. I'm still influenced by Ursula Le Guin and four of the tracks on “Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark" are linked with a story about a wizard and his fatal journey trough the dark. The other songs are very much about the themes mentioned above including pain and suffering. | cherish many of the themes concerning dark nature, occultism, mysticism, science fiction, fantasy, folk- lore mythology. The reason why | enjoy each of these themes ? Let's say there's either something wrong with me or with the rest of the world. As for the religious matters, | wish that religion someday will be nothing but history. It is incredible that people can be so pathetic that they dedicate their lives such a liar. Religions should be fascinating tales from the past, not something to follow in a modern society. As great tales from the past, | know that you are keen on Norse history and mytho- logy... Ghash : | think that bands like ENSLAVED, BATHORY or EINHERJER proved that black metal and Norse mythology can match good together but many people think this musi- cal style should be a pure satanic thing. | guess you can find lots of elements which fit good into the black metal concept in our ancestors. We don't base our lyrics on Norse mythology. We respect it but it's not something we stand for. KEEP OF KALESSIN will be part of the MAYHEM tribute soon to be released by Avantgarde Music... Obsidian C. : | am the one who performed the vocals on the MAYHEM cover song. For me, this band represents murder, suicide, a hell of a hammer, unforgettable black meal compositions and most of all, they were the pioneers of the genre. We wanted to choo- se the song "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" but it was already taken, so we picked “Buried By Time And dust" because the fast riffs fit well to KEEP OF KALESSIN. Our desire was to select a track to which we could add something special, and we agreed it was the right one. We are very proud to be featured on this compilation, together with such respected bands as EMPEROR, LIMBONIC ART, ANCIENT, GORGOROTH, D \ MARDUK, ENSLAVED, TORMENTOR, BEHEMOTH and CARPATH deepest hail the true MAYHEM horde. AL rue to the roots and essence of the s2orweaian black metal style, Taake is an unforgettable demonstration of pure and grim sound- scapes. Its talented and impressive creator, G. Hoest, succeeds tn Dominating his compositions with personal musical statements and a deep feeling of individuality. His very own world is the one of the night, beyond earthly failure... Dialogue with U. Hoest immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND Through your compositions, you want to recreate the old Norwegian sunless atmospheres, expressing national feelings and personal philosophy... To produce TAAKE's essential soundscape, | have a certain range of necessary ele- ments to feature. | have always been a fan of my country's folk tones and | think that to include such means in Norwegian black metal really gives the musical style a lot more dynamics as well as a very distinct Norwegian stamp that can't be ripped off by other nationalities. And | can already tell you that traditional acoustic folk instru- ments are very likely to be featured on the future material. To procure the feeling of __ our wonderful storms up is a wanted effect and to express raw, wild energy and ‘intensity through the choice of rhythm variations, climaxes is something | see as necessary In my music. Meaning “fog’, the epithet TAAKE refers to a mysterious representation... TAAKE shall be connected to the fog which my hometown, Bergen, is widely known for, cloaking the seven surrounding mountains. Apart from this patriotic aspect, the band name also suits my lyrical concepts which are to a large extent based upon spectral phenomena in the wildemess. | want TAAKE to be a strong Norwegian expression, so the lyrical influences of our earlier eras are essential to my writing style. | feel linked with the Norwegian wilderness and hate to return to civilization again. To express my fascination is something | often do for an atmospheric focus. | also tend to include ideological views and own statements for the desired effect. 12 Having always been the unique writer of TAAKE'’s music and lyrics, yo! naturally regarded as the only permanent member as well... _ It is important for me to create an expression as personal as possible,’so | would never let another individual collaborate in the songwriting process. With my approa- ch towards music, it would only be a confuse element for me. | doubt that | will ever find a musician with whom | could develop such a co-frequency and | am not inter- _ ested in this. As this part of my life has become quite important to me,.| prefer to stay in total control on my own and get everything done by myself. TAAKE's releases are but small glances into my world, the music and the lyrics being the best guides. About the creative process, it is hardly based on musical rules and certain patterns. | can only work when | am truly inspired, which of course is the case with most artists. As a musician, as an artist, you are very receptive to impressions, impulses and you react according to the nature of those feelings... Some events mark or even scare me every now and then, and the urge to express that particular feeling through music and lyrics does report itself. My inspirations range from aggression, melancholy, yearning, frustration, to fascination, pride, domi- nation and triumph. | want to express the emotions that come from within and that are indescribable with words. | think that Victor Hugo said it best : "Music expresses what not be said, yet which it is impossible to keep quiet about". So from there, | add necessary the musical elements to express such atmospheres in the most effective and honest way. With not too much catching my interest or enthusiasm by modern human control or direction, it is of great satisfaction to be able to create something of my very own to concentrate on. Musically speaking, | am a very sensitive young man and to create my own entertainment is a comfortable relief. My involvement in TAAKE is also a great way of adapt myself to certain events and to a sort of "let off steam". As it might happen, my band activities bring me in touch with people my work appeals to as well. Lyrically speaking, “Nattestid..." is a concept album, a kind of personal sound- track to Norwegian autumn and winter nights - the album title meaning "Nighttime" -, with all the moods and phenomena combined with your own night thoughts... My starting point is what goes on in my innerself, expressed metaphorically through Norwegian atmospheric scenery. My releases shall be of sovereign Norwegian qua- lity with a distinct nationalistic stamp, yet being more timeless than old-Norwegian. My lyrical expression on this album is based upon many of my nocturnal expeditions where my mind plays tricks on me and the feeling of being alone fades. The full album title was originally “Nattestid ser porten vid", which could be translated into something like "Nighttime sees the gate wide". A reference to the music which sym- bolizes the negative energy strengthened at night. Then you have the supposed seven gates of Hell, the cold absence of the sun, the influence on people, animals, nature... lt is hard to give an impression of the lyrics, as the TAAKE experience is all about atmosphere and moods which can really only be obtained by reading and interpreting them on your own. But | had to swindle the whole world by writing in a frigid language with an illegible writing system. The elements featured in my texts are themes like oppositions, male/female, sun/moon, silver/gold, obsession, nationalism, references to folklore and mythology and a small doze of blasphemy. A topic that has interested me for long is life after death, and the communication on this new fre- quency. | have already written an entirely new concept album about this, which will probably be featured on my next recording. Your lyrics are formulated in old Norwegian verse pattern. How did you get this knowledge ? My most favourable reading is the great lyrical works of Norway's true cultural heri- tage, thus influences are the likely result. Literature by Aasen and Garborg holds such immense quality, always refined with rhymes and rhythms, excellent dynamics, and the topics mostly deal with typical purely Norwegian topics. | truly feel close to everything concerning this writing style and would gladly contribute that the tradition lives on. The name of the band as well as the lyrics are written in the old runic alpha- bet. What do the runes represent for you ? The runic writing forms were used in our booklet mainly to strengthen the Norse essence of TAAKE's art. As | chose to exclusively express myself lyrically through my mother tongue, to write and present the lyrics in their very own writing form became natural. There are also references to the concept of Odin and his links with the runes. All in all, this is a release in which Latin doesn't have much place Which rune in particular would you choose as a symbol for TAAKE and your- self ? To depict personal qualities is just one of the several runie functions : magic activity, future predictions, talismans, and written messages. Personally, Ansuz/Os (compa- rable to the Latin A) wouldn't be bad as a charm around my neck, representing along with The Messenger, signals, gaining knowledge and passing tests. The old Norse Loke/Loki, whose way of life one might feel identifiable with. Another candidate could be Jera (J), simply meaning Autumn, which is my artist name, Host in English. For the band, Teiwaz (T) might be as interesting as the first letter, representing martial warrior energy, as well as Tiw, god of the sky. _ The photo on the cover expresses a deep feeling of serenity, an atmosphere of wisdom.... / The key word here is control. The figure on the photography was taken during the creative process of most of the album material. During those periods dominated by restlessness and impatience, there was a lot to lock up inside for a while. | have always been of the opinion that the visual element strengthens the atmosphere if it is used properly. Representing my music and lyrics, such photos will always be an important part of the band’s products. The TAAKE experience is based on n ife, which is meant to shine through most parts of "Nattestid...”. he star emissary has composed a genuine astral odpssep guided bp countless spaceships, the kevboards, which open pour astoun- Ded epes to boundless and unknown landscapes. From the numerous melodic variations to the evocative powers of the vocals, Cwigkeit succeeds in translating the style of a science fiction nobel into music. How can pou resist in front of so manp talented sparks ? Dialogue with James Fogarty (all music and vocalisations) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND The amount and technicality of the keyboards has greatly increa- sed on "Starscape"... | think that my musical vision has intensified since my debut album "Battle Furies". Now when | know what | want, | can normally get it. It’s a step that few bands make, and it is a necessary step towards musical progression. Basically, it was at that time that | was writing all the songs starting with the keyboards. | think that | needed to get it out of my sys- tem, or something. The songwriting took a long time for each part, espe- cially the keyboards. Maybe now, | would arrange the parts differently, or mix it differently, but that was what EWIGKEIT was about at that time. I try to think of music as a collection of tones, pulses and rhythms. | think that for "Starscape", the keyboards were the centre of mostly every- thing. Now, the music that I’m writing, is almost all written with guitar. The songs are far more progressive than anything previous, and it's more laid back. Your vocals were supposed to be thought of as broadcasts over the radio from out there, in deep space... Because all long-distance contact until recently was through sound. It's a bit like me trying to speak to the listener with music as well, all the atmospheres and feelings. It was a good idea for that album, but it won't always be that way with EWIGKEIT. I’ve done this or that with ‘Battle - Furies’, and now it's time to move on. By the time you read this, I'm far away again. Like when we see stars, they are not there when we are loo- ___ king at them. They have moved on somewhere else, or from another oe of view, we have moved away from them. You also play the drums by the way, but never for EWIGKEIT... When people hear how accomplished | am, they always ask why | use _take a scientific view, EWIG- programmed drums, and it's because it ma own, and also cheaper to record. Moreo well, then you've got to do it yourself. Then only yourself to blame. Another part of my. ong the lyrics. This is something I’m exploring fur The concept developed throughout “Starscape lution of the soul to the next plane of existen It is philosophic, and like the music, it is "Starscape" is an album from within the coc through that, it has taken me to the next level. All | have, which is my music. Without this mouth-r ther frustrated person, just another brick in this dark grey wall of a world. My interests are my own explorative philosophy on life and the questions that no one can answer. While other extreme. metal bands with a space interest # KEIT has a more spiritual approach towards the stars... We're always told things by scientists in the media, about the origin of life and other rela- ted matters. What people have to remember is that these people are own making a_semi-educated guess. | personally think that science can take us no further than where we are. As human beings, we need to now advance our spiritual sides. Stop seeing everything as good or evil, or black or white. All religions fall at this first of many hurdles. — ae | think that in the true sense of the word, you are a godless per: son.. It's hard to define oneself but | guess the easiest label for my personal beliefs is that | am a free-thinking pagan. Although | read a lot of text, | see this only as a guideline. Everyone must have his own path in life, if that path is not true in that person's mind, then that individual is weak and their own worst enemy. : According to you, how does the concept of paganism differ font Satanism ? : | am not a Satanist, although Satanism has taken and corrupted alc the concepts of the old religions. The philosophical points cit Satanism hold some value but they have been taken to such that Satanism has been made as laughable as Catholicism. As for Satanists claiming superiority over paganism, not only is this chil- dish attitude but it is also pathetic for a pupil to claim gene: intellige ce than the tutor. You understand magic as the abili- ty to shape one’s own situation in this life, by the power and will of one's own mind... | am a spiritual person, but he who walks alone always has less a fall. It's never good or progressive to emulate the crowds and their ways. | think — that metaphysics is quite true. Magic is a way in which we can better lead our lives. It is as true as the light of day, but is surely misunderstood by many. British heritage has always played an important role in your perso life... As my father has been a heraldic artist fo up with that stuff all around the house. | suppose that it's in my music somewhe more ancient history, in times before recent happenings in the 20th century. he name Empprium is a word that has its roots tn Greece. The toics (some Greek philosophers) used this word to explain ‘themselves the phenomena of the stars. hep thought that epond the skp that we see is another skp which is burning, hence the stars ‘according to them just holes in the horison. mpprium ts that burning skp, symbolising a strong nature mpstical aspect as well ag great deal of esoteric. Dialogue with Markus Stock (all strings, all vocals and percussions) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND What were your motivations to record an entirely acoustic album after ‘Songs Of Moor And Misty Fields" ? lt was my deep fascinations for nature mystics and the tales and sagas of folk- lore, and since | view acoustic instruments as the only genuine way to express the pure, romantic mood of folklore, the arrangement of the album has been clear ever since. | sincerely adore tragic folklore, be it Eastern European or Scandinavian folk. | don't like Irish folk and the faster, happier folk music at all. As for the composers | admire and that really inspi- red me, | think in the clas- sical field Grieg, Sibelius and at times Smetana made the biggest impression on me. For the folk part, | must say that | real- ly adore ULVER’s "Kveldssanger" and LANDBERK's work, which is not pure folklore but does keep its mood alive. But | was definitely even more inspired by 4 the tales and the atmosphere of folklo- re itself than by com- posers who express folkloric moods. It was very important to capture the right feeling and atmosphere during the song- writing and also whilst performing in the studio. But | think | caught the tragic and dark spirit of folklore very much “Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays". ntiments in art and life... oure emotional affair, thus we are just a part of nature for when you are hopeless depressive, then this will ruin yourself ai or later end with suicide. But | am not that kind of man as | al solutions (like music, my love to nature and my woman). At its creator, and the creator couldn't live without art. You gr iu as well as your art grows with you : it's a divine syrr Do you feel a great deal of beauty in the deepest sorrow ? Yes, | admit that | am a pessimist at heart but of course, that doesn't me: | can't feel love or any other emotion known as positive. | feel lost of love, belie ve me, but as much grief and sorrow sometimes. Positivism and negativity _ belong very much together. And as we want to express our emotions with EMPYRIUM's music, it is just natural that there's lots of love and grief featured. The variation between the screamy and the melodic vocals is something that happened naturally ... At the very beginning of the band, at the time of our demo, | just had this screa- ming type of voice but sometime | caught myself at the rehearsal singing with normal voice. | worked a bit at home on that voice and suddenly it became a part of our music. Maybe you can look upon this duet again as a proof that EMPYRIUM refers to both light and darkness, bitterness and sweetness. Anyway, | have always found screaming vocals very fascinating as | think that screaming expresses really deep feelings. With my normal vocals, | can express different feelings and | find it absolutely great to use both types of vocals for EMPYRIUM. With our third album, | think | have deve oped into the right direction, but | have still a lot to learn when it comes to pe But | am still pretty young, so | hope | can manage to ecm future. In the past, at the time of "A Wintersunset...' William Shakespeare : "There are more things ir dreamt in our philosophy"... : This sentence Jee our fascination for nature mystic and the spirits and ‘cha Shelley or Keats. Edgar Allan Poe wrote some of the di | poetry | have ever read. But there are also a lot of German ' ; adore, such as the great Goethe, Droste-H, Ishoff, Novalli: natural beauty, | can't get weather is right, | take p influential sou 6. The V ettoeeit fantasp and reality, Bark Sanctuary's purpose ts to explore the furthest reaches of our unconsciousness and the rea- lisation of the innerself. Chrough dark, atmospheric and spm- phonic compositions, the band inbites vou to a special journey into the mind and spitit of their creators. When musicians become aware that the female hotee tg a wonderful and sensual instrument... Dialogue with Hylgaryss (keyboards) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND How did DARK SANCTUARY originate as a musical entity ? DARK SANCTUARY originated as a solo project under the unique will of Arkdae in early 1996. The first release was the "Bruises" demo in February, followed one year later by the “Funeral Cry" mini CD. In September 1997, we became a real band thanks to the integration of Marquise Ermia as a permanent vocalist and of two new members, a second keyboard player and a percussionist. We then worked altogether to realize our debut full length album "Royaume Melancolique", which was recorded in summer 1998. As a real unit, we were able to rehearse and perform gigs without the use of computers or samplers. | think it is a very important thing for us and for the audience. The new members have brought a new dark soul as well as different emotions and feelings to the compositions. We didn't change the line-up drastically, we just rea- ched the final shape we needed. Compared with "Funeral Cry", "Royaume Meélancolique” displays a wider range of emotions gathered under the banner of atmosphe- ric medieval music... DARK SANCTUARY's current line-up offers more energy and feelings than a simple one man band. The diversity of the members brings some new musical horizons, without losing the dark, melodic and bewitched side that has characterized the band since its inception. Our music becomes more varied, more emotional, and we always try to increase the band's strength by introducing new instruments (a violinist joined us in July 1998) in order to form a richer musical ensemble. "Royaume Mélancolique" shows the true face of the band, it's a very eclectic album betraying our source of inspiration, which comes from personal happe- nings. Each of us has a kind of frustration in this world, and DARK SANCTUARY helps us to express these feelings through music. Our style can be related to powerful classical music because it is the kind of emotions we would like to create : sometimes impressive and some- times s slow and pure, but always dark and sad. joods and atmospheres brought on by DARK SANCTUARY 2 most calm and serene, then transform into the sinister and r but | don't see itasa Gontradicuon: Rather than mpound or fusion between these serene/calm and nts. I can see one Seperation ae ye! is the case. iS : demmetie aly fluid, eahereal and ¢ nthe marriage of grace and despair... rmia is now more implicated in DARK SANC- er reeling | is more Preset than before. She wrote her own _ parts on "Royaume Mélancolique", which wasn't __ CD. Her voice is deeply beautiful, some said be Eve Gabrielle Siskind of ELEND, which is a v ment for her. The vocal passages she performe __are very sad, suave and take me away from Le w dies the purest music we have ever composed. — What kind of relation do you share with the various s language use in the lyrics : French, English and Latin ? French is our native tongue, | think it is the most beautiful lang the world because of its poetic dimension. The art of poetry be our cultural heritage, it has something superior than normal lyri : more-natural and makes the whole thing more complete to use pi ems in our songs. The English language has no real meaning for us, we just like the way it sounds. As for Latin, it is the perfect kind of prose to express a religious atmosphere. It is natural for us to mix different lan- guages altogether because we want to bring variations both in the music and the lyrics. Evoking dark and melancholic imagery of spectral forms, did you have a theme in mind when writing the lyrics of your debut full length album ? There is no real lyrical concept behind “Royaume Mélancolique” becau- se all of our texts sound different. They are sometimes romantic and pure, sometimes very dark and oppressing like a slow and infinite fune- ral march. A song is based on a prayer too, but there is no religious mes- sage on this album. We have our own convictions and don't want to translate them through DARK SANCTUARY, we run other musical pro- jects to express them. | think we try to understand our soul : | don't belie- ve in the word "soul" in its religious meaning, we are our soul and nothing is beyond it. As a mental companion, each of the track on "Royaume Mélancolique" enables the listener to explore his subconscious and realize the capacity of the mind and innerself. How has this role fit into the creation of your music ? This is an important part of our quest because to explore subscons- ciousness and the realization of the innerself is exactly what DARK SANCTUARY is about. | assert that the emotional atmospheres within our music and the procedure when.creating the music originate from our unconsciousness. Our musi¢ and lyrics come from the dark side of our souls, translating our emotions and bringing a personal touch from the abyss of our lives. i ‘ resented through a melancholic and nostalgic dark metal reper - ‘toire which finds its foundations in refined and elegant roman - tte atmospheres, sforbidden Site's unforgettable art is dedica- our land, to our identity and to the one of our ancestors. The poetic es, the decadent melodies of "Astralgeist" echo like an endless night, just as if light had faded forever. € passionate and frenetic assault in which romanticism becomes an hymn: "Beauty is truth" (Beats). logue with Arnault De Stael uthor, drums & artworks) talized by Laurent MICHELLAND Stralgeist” sounds like a personal hymn, an aspiration, a *Astralgeist" is not so evident at the first listening and seems to cant ear. Each song is an indispensable stone for the build of the it. Our debut album "Sturm Und Drang" was really romantic in its f enthusiasm through melancholy. A scream cast towards the ind frantic. ates a more intimate feeling. A personal contact between the sky. A link between man and the infinite, more solemn in its way. A en man and the angels as a symbolic link for a passage through 9sed by extreme human situations. an "Apothéose" ? 2 : FORBIDDEN: SITE's debut album hadi t be compared with a cathedral, with its rules, foundati tions, symbols and sacred aura. "Dies Irae" announces an Apocalypse, the day of for those who are subjects to feel it. The end of a wo = is ours. world : the poet, the spider and the priest and to a Char one who sings, the one who sacrifices and is sacrificed he the one of the ancient world as the last lie and the las lization. The apotheosis signifies the coming of a new age after the return of the three entities in one. A kind of mystic trinity. Why did you choose a Franco-German word, ee ae to entitle FOR- BIDDEN SITE's second album... / "Astral" is French and “geist” means spirit. This is a spe esoteric languages. The part of the angel that can travel beyon rise after death. A way to reach other dimensions and to consider the world and our human condition from above : Ex-Cathedra... This new piece of art drags the listener off an abyss of lind) ag towards a romantic reflection upon history, civilization and man... History, the respect of our past is for me a duty. A duty to have and to feel mighty roots in order to grow. This is more than important for us to understand ourselves and also to understand the others, the differences. "Astralgeist" seems to be a wit- ness of the end of an age and a consecration, an exorcism of this long and painful laceration. A way to transcend our decay, an overture towards a new horizon in the knowledge of some microcosmic correspondences of our past. Annotation of the end, our suicide through heroic and desperate struggles like the French Chouannerie. The denial to crawl with the mass, to follow the herd and to accept mediocrity. A symbol of resistance even if the battle seems to be already lost. Maybe a proof that, whatever it may happen, ancestral values shall forever reign. How do you personally perceive the realms of monarchy and democracy ? Monarchy is a natural perception for us, not a concept or a style. There are not so many foundations for a great civilization. | don't spit childishly on democracy. Democracy could be interesting for a small domain, with few people and above all, intelligent and wise people with transcendental notions. At the end, it leads to an aristocracy... Democracy is a joke nowadays, the consecration of hypocrisy. Hierarchy is more evident for man than a total elevation. And to. say all the finical clichés about monarchy, | admit monarchy can have some defects since perfection is not of this word. We can just compare the result after 1300 years of monarchy and after maybe 100 years of democracy. The one who could say that the current situation in Europe is fair, great, intelligent, wise or beautiful must be the king of stu- pidity or hypocrisy. Of course, | am proud of the French cultural heritage as every French should be. The shame dwells in the current face of the European nation. Internationalization, mass culture thus under-culture, ambient mediocrity, the loss of values, the agony of art, the general vulgarity to entertain the herd and the cult of money to entertain the pseudo-might... Worthless and plain... Do you think that dissatisfaction in art stirs the thirst and the desires to fol- low the endless quest ? A certain bliss can appear when | succeed in a kind of exorcism through my lyrics. When | succeed in representing my feelings with truth, | can have a fleeting impres- sion to transcend something, but the operation is really rare and this alchemy has to gather a lot of factors hard to control. | believe in inspiration and | never force myself, that is why my periods of writing are rather rare. | have to take a lot of recoil to write, a recoil about the subject | want to exorcise. | think that | could never write anything | could bear when | am desperate, drunk or if | consider the writing pro- cess as a work. | need serenity and it is really difficult for me to find it. At the end, | can't be completely satisfied : perfection is divine... Here lies the truth | think. You had personally dedicated "Sturm Und Drang" to Gérard De Nerval. His masterpiece "Aurélia" relates the story of a mental disease that gives life to dementia. Do you see a link between this book and your spiritual approach ? For me, Nerval embodies French romanticism, a transfiguration of art. His life and his art were one, until the end. | won't write about his "mental disease". In my opi- nion, he just had another perception of the universe, maybe a superior vision of the world. | don't feel concrete link with Nerval, he was in his own world, maybe far from everybody, but he is a man | truly admire for what he was, true with himself. "Aurélia" could be seen as the legacy of art, his suicide could be the final point. Isle-Adam. Are On your second assault, you wrote an homage fo Villiers De you fascinated by the quest for immortality, that is oe pages of "L'Eve Future" ? Villiers was a revelation lost in a world about to darken in a total \ re deeply with his perception of life, his aristocratic vision of € : had to endure in order to assume his ideal. | admire his co dence full of mysticism, his endless quest for beauty. W world is perfectly close to his thought 100 years before consider such a visionary soul : the feeling that everyth ean (vocals, bass, keyboards) ose MICHELLAND musically very far removed from this tape... ost diverse material, including influences from black, avy metal along with gothic dark and traditional music. , rm of six years filled with line-up and style changes. | ink that our compositions contain a lot of highs and lows. This is basically et when you mix deep feelings of anger and sadness, of love : Also oe fon these themes, GEASA's music is written in such a way that every single person in the band ends up having just as much musical _ input as the others. And when you think that we all have varying tastes in __ music, the end result is something that | hope defies rigid genres. Musically and lyrically however, | must be influenced by bands | listen to, _ like BATHORY, FiELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, SAMAEL or DEAD CAN DANCE. Yet for mood and feeling, all that influences me are my feelings. This chapter in the band's history is wholly a journey in your mind, the deepest, darkest reaches of your consciousness... _ GEASA brings me pride, an outlet of aggression, sorrow and hate. If it wasn't i this outlet, | think | would be in a totally different life now. Any as it usually has no absolute translation, only what people will take out of _it themselves. | guarantee that whatever they do think GEASA's lyrics _ mean, it won't be what | see in them. | have to say that my main sources _of inspiration are my thoughts with a few fantasy, philosophy, horror writers i uel. | do enjoy reading books written by such talented authors as J.R.R. Tolkien, Fiest, John Fowles and a few others. ‘The name GEASA is taken froma an sd Gaelic word which would be - Geis or some such derivative. In fact, it comes from a Celtic tradit or curse upon them to either commi _ Anyway, when he left to join the new Irish technical m mysticism in anything | do is very oe and shouldn't be taken literally mainly on clean vocals while Dialltach had more e ag band KINGDOM just before the recording sessions, | was kind of thrown in at the deep end. So most of the vocals on “Angels Cry” were improvi- sed and had not been rehearsed at all. To experiment my vocals is some- thing that is very important for me because if you don't seek new ways of expressing yourself, how are you ever going to be any different to any other black, death or heavy metal band ? And that goes for all es of our music. The album ends with “Spansill Hill", a track that has a strong Irish feeling and which sounds like a passionate tribute to the heritage of your native land... "Spansill Hill" is a very sad and melancholic @rosdnere | $0 it fitted well into the rest of the album. This special track was sung by our drummer Simon O'Leary because he really wanted to express his vocal duties through a traditional Irish song. And since | haven't seen that much pas- sion about Irish heritage in any metal band, we thought it would be a good idea if we kept the song close to its original sound and not to turn it into some sort of metal traditional song. Shall we see this particular song as a way to express your love for all the old Irish folk tales and myths ? In a way, yes. | love the thought of ancient times but once you get to maybe the 18th century, it doesn't hold my interest any more. Still | can think of worse places to live. | must admit that sometimes, | feel like a warrior and sometimes, I'm too introspective. From a general point of view, I'm quite proud of Irish heritage but not of Ireland. My land is as full of pathetic vermin as anywhere else in the world. _ Yet | think I'll always stay in this country anyway. It's somehow my home and | haven't visited anywhere | would rather be, except my own realm... The lyrics you wrote on "Angels Cry" reflect your abstract soul, a land where your every desire is broached... | Suppose the lyrical concept would be the most personal for me. The main theme behind GEASA's debut full length album is loneliness : | don't feel sorry for myself, but | do feel that everyone is the centre of their own uni- verse. Some time ago, | realised that everything | did in the past was for myself. This — mea lot to know that however much | loved someone, ag N... forever. she knew a strange couple that were probably exactly what | was n its about the difficulties in finding the right musicians for my pro- DAME. ‘Thad already thought up the name and written a few songs at that time. / And on top. of that, the Bros had a great last name, De Sade, almost too good to be true. As far as | know, Jean-Pierre and Mannequin had their own band called THE BLOOD GROUP, $0 obscure and extreme underground that it never got to see the light of day, because of the tragic death of their third member Frangois who died in a car accident in Paris a few years _ ago. The band instantly died with him. The two also toured with some kind of burlesque freak : W circus as background musicians, the guitarist/bassist Jean-Pierre handled the “Orgue _ de Barbarie". The other half Manuel nicknamed Mannequin is a lot easier though. | knew he would be a perfect member of the band in all ways except for one : he couldn't play any other __ instrument than drums, and being a drummer myself, that wasn't obviously what | was looking __ for. So | had to make a choice, in order to make the band possible : | stepped aside and let _ him do the drumming. S with France since she moved to fofessional dancer... er jo) and was Totally fed up with her | hange and try some different direction. ind has no musical education nor 6 tracted your soul for some str. nge reasons.. id from the events nding time with he stereotype promoted by the movi hat | have a more insight view of i fe Sadistic twins, it has changed a bit : Of the French name NOTRE DAME, n't listen to music at all, almo ourse, | have my own favourite all time heroes _fajor impact on me. I've worked had trying to invent my own language in mus ought to be an extension of his or her personality. In the best cases it is, as | and | iry to stay true to myself and my deals. | don't do it for anyone els Own, and if people like it though, no one is happier than me. Your compositions combine different styles and influences which r of their own... | can't believe some people who get totally engulfed by a certain s' or self-esteem simply go on ripping off the whole concept, copyi Style : lyrics, imagery, music, sound, everything. That's why | don't gorized in this or that style. | mix all kinds of stuff from everything t the late 60's to the 90's. | have always had a tendency for moving towards pic and | want NOTRE DAME's music to be like a great movie. Doing your own thi of guts, when you refuse to place yourself into a kind of "safe zone", doing what everyb expects from you. The title of NOTRE DAME's debut full length album comes from the movie "An With The Vampire"... The eerie vibe from the scenes in the bizarre theatre and especially underneath was some- thing | Had in mind when | wrote the music for this album. For other songs, | was inspired by feelings lve been carrying with me through the years. There is for instance the v Many years ago of some people who tried to escape from the castle u down the snowelad hills in a coffin. Coppola's excellent "Dracula" in 4 with its thundering onward underneath a blue sky on narrow winding trails unto his castle... It was incredible. All that makes me realize that | mostly DAME's music upon sights and not upon sounds one of the Be rcliersa Usually, when | write a song, | come up with a title or a few words and t music and the lyrics simultaneously, because | want them to make a pe! ec write short stories where |'m sort of painting a picture with the colours that It with the mood of the song, describing the atmosphere, the surroundings : hard time making it short stories, so sometimes, | have to make prologues o1 the whole story there. | plan to change a bit this method in the future, so that i without these tiring compromises. | spend many sleepless nights writing NO lyrics but | discovered that | see lyrics for songs from a different anc le than On the first hand, | want the lyrics to suit the mood of the song and to fit w So you rather see yourself as a songwriter | know that my biggest resources is my nev zed songwriters, not musicians. It is everythit CANDLEMASS is one of the best writers ever. bass playing, but that's nothing thatbothe: just so that | can remember it. Then | mig stage. These tapes are just for myself in order to get the right 3 ae: ae — eee? zeae la agick. Sfreedom. Art. : this is the whole tdea behind Lux Occulta's creation. A notion of correspondence between diffe - tent elements, various levels of communication such as the music, the lyrics and the visual expresston. This Polish band links the sounds, words and pictures to create a deeply multidimensional work of art. This balance reflects the absolute harmony between the steps of the astral world: the harmony of spheres... Dialogue with Jaro. Slav. (guttural violence & ominous incantations) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND With "My Guardian Anger", it seems that you wanted to change your music, to evolve, but to remain LUX OCCULTA with this mys- terious, occult metal atmosphere. Do you think you have moved one step further on your road to artistic sovereignty ? In fact, the band's evolution was enormous this time. With "Dionysos", we kind of finished this radical black metal period in our music. We realized that there were some other dimensions in extreme metal music that we hadn't explored yet. Besides, we changed our line-up and this transfor- mation was very important. Guitarist G'’Ames and bass player Jack were kicked out of LUX OCCULTA and we invited two young but very talented musicians to play with us. Both Vogg (lead guitar) and Martin (bass) brought some fresh air to our music and some technical abilities as they are much better musicians that the previous ones. All these mental and physical changes strongly influenced our new material and one can expect something very diverse and original but still brutal and dark. LUX OCCULTA did not abandon the extreme metal area, we rather tried to push its border a bit further. One of the very first reviews of the new album said that we now sound like ARCTURUS, but still metal. | see this as a great compliment... This new release proves that the huge difference between "Forever Alone. Immortal" and "Dionysos" wasn't incidental... Yes, this is where we always wanted to go with our music . LUX OCCULTA's new repertoire is even faster and much more complex. The truth is that we love both brutal, aggressive music as well as intelligent melodies, with complicated structures and ambitious arrangements. That's why we want to combine both distinct styles. The most important thing in music is feeling, some kind of atmosphere that is impossible to name, but you know it exists. | hope we again mana- ged to capture this atmosphere and that we will never lose this gift from gods. Everything that we've ever experienced so far influences our art in a way or another. Of course, it's always easier to trace these influences in my lyrics, even if they are not written in a straight manner, but also the sounds themselves are mirrors of our souls. And LUX OCCULTA changes as we change, as time passes by. It's natural... Far more diverse than before, the music and the vocals might be a bit complicated and ambitious for some listeners... We included some complex, multidimensional arrangements here and there, some strange, psychotic rhythms, which makes "My Guardian Anger’ a bit hard to swallow when you listen to it for the first time. The new compositions feature some different styles of metal, with black and death metal passages as well as some elements of doom, thrash and traditional heavy metal. | am sure this is also our most metal album up to date. As for the vocals, there are now more low, guttural chants than __ high-pitched screams. | also included some strange whispers and some _ surprises. _ This time, the lyrics don't deal with one special story like on "Forever Alone. immortal." or "Dionysos"... _ "My Guardian Anger" is a collection of poetic occult impressions, inspi- _ fed mostly by Christian Bible (Old Testament), Jewish Quabbalah, Tarot "as well as my own sick dreams and ideas. The sub-title of this album is Construction Of One Pocket-Size Universe With The Patchwork . hod" and it is basically what | sing about. About burning my boats to this lousy world and its rules and creating my own realm. It's a pretty colpeeticg album, a bit bitter than a but definitely not nihilistic. movie is a specific interpretation of the lyrics, whic 190 On “Dyonisos", your verses were based on a famous myth of the ancient Greek God of paradox, sexual ecstasy, insanity bloodshed and wine. Could you explain the bizarre concept behind "My Guardian Anger" ? It deals with my desires to destroy all my links with the outer universe and to build a different one from its ashes. Maybe the new world is not that big nor glorious, maybe even crippled, but it's mine and that is the point. "My Guardian Anger" is a kind of goodbye kiss to Christianity and Satanism. | was raised as a Christian, then | used to call myself a Satanist. Today | don't see any difference between them. They are like two sides of one card and | realized that | don't need this card to win the game. This is the last LUX OCCULTA album connected with Christian beliefs and Satanic values : I'm free. Or at least | hope | am... All of your concepts are deeply rooted into the worlds of literature and inspired by the realm of the magic words... | have to say that | read quite a lot because | study Polish literature at the University of Cracow. | especially adore romantic and decadent poetry, with the names like Micinski, Baudelaire, Goethe, Byron, but also some other writers like Shakespeare (especially "Macbeth"), Hesse, Cortazar, P.K. Dick, Poe... | also read some books on philosophy, history of religion, occult books as well as popular literature like Stephen King or Clive Barker. But my all time favourite writer is Polish romantic poet Juilusz Slowacki. His great poem “Samuel Zborowski" was a huge influence for the lyrics of "Forever Alone. Immortal." as well as for my whole life. S zr be What did you learn from the art of reading ? The most important thing that | learnt from the books is that they are not that important as they pretend to be. You can learn much more from real life, if you know how to see and interpret the things that surround you. You can't live only with or within books. They are sometimes very. wise, ~~ very important, but they are all dead. The books don't have heart : they _ don't breathe, suffer, love or hate... To be addicted to the false wor literature is even worse than not reading at all. The same goes fake world of computer games or internet. Be alive and experience Taken from "My Guardian Anger”, the violent and Jat track " Kiss My Sword” was recently put into images... : i The character of this video clip is a bit militaristic since we eliaea some black and white documents from World War II, some explosions of hydro- gen bombs as well as some pictures from the Middle Ag gnostic theory according to which the most extre! planet, the murderers and the tyrants, were in fact its saviour. : DornenRei ith sincere emotion, individual devotion and gathered intenst - tp, Dornenreich's musical art bursts with surprises, variety and bounbdlessness. Those talented artists are deeply linked between them by characteristic qualities which butld the fundaments of this dark trio : each of them is sensitive, Dreamy and idealistic. The story of pessimism put into music and poems as some kind of indispensable and tragic virtue for the failing mankind. "It's music and it's more than life". Dialogue with Eviga (voice, acoustic guitars, lead guitars, bass guitar & poems) immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND "Nicht Um Zu Sterben" and "Bitter Ist's Dem Tod Zu Dienen" reveal a particular emotional aspect that is proper to DORNENREICH... Our musical skills and our view on music improved and changed, but above all we dared everything with the second album that seemed to be suitable in order to get across varied intensity. Starting off with the indivi- dual structure, progressing to the unique vocal appearance and resulting in the surprising instrumentation, we really tried to release an album full of emotional intensity. By the way, I'm quite sure that DORNENREICH's fast development won't cease ... Since the band's inception, you have never set any limits to your creativity : you adore variety and surprise... We want our listeners to get involved with intense emotions. Further we - are in the search of moments of emotional awareness, thus we are keen on breaks and complex rhythms : to build up an atmosphere, to tear it down, to rebuild a further one and to do justice to the single moments. Besides, we are able to live up to our imagina- tion due to our musical skills. To listen to our albums is definitely an adventure as for those countless (hidden) details and emo- tional ideas. Although the production is great, there are many things left to be dis- covered here and_ there since DORNENREICH's music breathes your soul... On DORNENREICH's second album, the vocals succeed in reaching an intense level of interpersonal exchange and confrontation between Valnes and your- self... We talk many times about our general musical understanding, about all the details in accentuation and about inter instrumen- tal dynamics. All the clean vocals have to be attributed to Valnes. Nevertheless, | feel that | progressed a lot too. With our voices, we give everything we can give, because our vocals are the most personal intense and individual means of expression. Therefore, to work on the vocals is of final supreme importance for us. | really take advantage of my vocal chords in sheer extremes and during every rehearsal, | improve vocal courage and individuality. The lyrical concept behind “Bitter Ist's Dem Tod Zu Dienen” refers back to your own character and deals with your per- sonal perception, which is quite an unu- sual and sensitive one... It means that | try to approach the way | receive the stimuli of this world and the way | react to them. - "Nachtlich Liebend" ("Nocturnal Adoring") deals with dream and reality, the creative possibilities to combine them and their obvious limits concer- ning each other. - : - "Wundenkissen" ("Kissing Wounds") is based on a dialogue, a struggle between Winzarten, who is sensuous, emotional and introverted, and Kargaist, a dominant, proud and extremely distrustful charachter. The question is whether you should trust your intuition or your five senses. | don't side with one attitude because it depends on every single situation, on your own personality and level of development. - "Reime Faucht Der Marchensarg" ("Rhymes Hisses The Coffin Of All Fairy Tales") is a blast against dimensional thoughts and rationalism. | try to revive this world of strength and the importance of its imagination. - "Federstrich In Grabesnahe" stresses the sudden desperation of a per- son being surprised and shocked by the pitiless arrival of this earthly death: he dies lonely and unprepared ("Memento Mori’). - "Leben Lechzend Herzgefltister" ("Life Yearning Heartwhispers") focuses on man's ability to think, to remember, to plan, to foreshadow. Man reflects his continuous fading and is aware of it. - "Woran Erkennt Mich Deine Sehnsucht Morgen ?" ("Tomorrow Your Longing Recognizes Me By What?") is a poem dedicated to immortal love. Emotional honesty and devotion is its actual charm : it's churning, deep, and simply beautiful. Your lyrics can be labelled as poems due to the fact that they are ambiguous and that they rely on your very own construction of gram- mar and syllables... They are rich in metaphors, symbols, alliterations and other stylistic means. Moreover, my lyrics consist of strophes, they are rhymed and reveal a continuous verse. Thus, with poetry | love the possibility to approach my innerself in an individual and artistic way. In my mother tongue | dare everything in order to get my inner emotions and thoughts across to other beings : German is the only way to reach this target. With this language, | know how to create puns, to express myself in an ambiguous way. therefore | reached a level, which | will never reach in a foreign language such as French or English. Besides we consider the German language to be suitable for our vocals as for its harsh and embit- tered sound. But, with our third album we will certainly start to establish an English and maybe a French translation. By using our mother tongue, we try to get across the emotional impression that the musicians of DOR- NENREICH really identify themselves with the themes they go public with. As a fervent literary admirer, you are very familiar with the romantic movement and the current wave of expressionism... I'm fascinated by Novalis’ attempts to crea- te a poetical universe in which everything is related with one another in a mystic way. Besides, | think highly of these romantic nature bonds and the way romantic poets mix (up) the different genres (poem, fairy tale, novel, song...). Regarding the expressionist movement, | adore the attempt to recreate and to disco- | ver every single word and the entire gram- mar. | love the unique and personal access to language that poets such as Benn and Trakl gained for themselves. | also admire Oscar Wilde because of his sarcasm and witty sayings. Referring back to inspiration, | os have to mention additionally J.R.R. Tolkien, who really challenges my imagination and ws provides my soul with everlasting atmos- pheres. Of utter importance is that you attempt to include and extend your innerselves within DORNENREICH's music and poems... We consist of nothing but overwhelming thoughts, emotions, rhythms and melodies, which become one gathered expression known as DORNENREICH. | feel that our music sounds honestly and it means that one can feel our personal dedication and emotional devotion to the band. Each of us has a different background : Gilvan (once : Dragomir) was an orchestra musician, Valnes (once Dunkelkind) is into gothic music now and as for myself, I'm quite familiar with the world of theatre since my father was a stage designer and painter. Thus, we stress visual and acoustic aesthetics as well as the unity of word, tune and picture. : Judas Agcariot ubdas Jscariot's music ts in ever changing development. Beqardless gif how one interprets its musical Development , each album ts another fierce attack on the Christian disease. Each is a testament to the spirit of nibilism and a glorification of the extreme metal underaround. Mastermind Akhenaten never tried to imitate anpone or anything with his music, which comes from the deepest secrets within himself. ses "warrior", the name Windir is the brainchild of a single soul, Valfar, who runs his project completely on bis own. With Dialogue with Akhenaten everlasting passion and faith, his second album "Arntor™ draws parallels immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND | to atmospheric and majestic black metal art while leaning towards SP orweat: . ‘ cases I . “ r lost in tl "Of Great Eternity" was written in the city of Nuremburg, Germany and not in the USA. Why ? e Paorwegian folk nes for rsplLa es and bo MATE: Foreve lost in the Germany is the land of my ancestors. Although | was born in the feeble shores of the USA, | am wildest landscapes of the orthern kingdom... Volksdeutscher. Germany is a land that speaks to my blood and my spirit. | have an eternal tie with my father- land and because of that creating music within the spirits of my ancestors is quite natural. | also wrote most of ‘ E = the material for the upcoming CD "Heaven In Flames" in Germany. Dialogue with Valfar (screams, guitars, bass, synth & accordion) ge immortalized by Laurent MICHELLAND Your abstract lyrics are often poetic philosophical flights into the realms of nihilism and the beauty of the dark... My personality is often cold and rebinding. | feel, as a nihilist, that as | am alive | am also dead. | am beyond time and space within this absurd world, Therefore | have no fear of death and it doesn't matter when or how | die. | exist on this mundane world with one purpose and that is to spread nihilistic propaganda. | care nothing for materialism and other mundane trifles. Nihilistic philosophy is transcendent. As nihilists, we have conque- ted death and fear, envy, greed and materialism. As nihilists, we strive for a climax of existence. Our power manifests in an overpowering spirit of mundanity. Death is not our enemy. We worship death as a natural end. Your thoughts belong to the concept of the overman developed by German philosopher Nietzsche... Nietzsche was one of the first to announce the philosophical death of God and to charge mortals to cast away the subhuman emotional weaknesses propagated by Christianity. As long as there is Christianity, there will exist the conterproductive emotions of fear, cowardess, envy and compassion. Nietzsche charged us all to empower ourselves by casting away such emotions and through a spirit of power and hatred to rise above the encroaching chains of Christian morality. Morality as expressed by judeo-Christianity is the ultimate perversion of the human spirit. Out the musical context, you are also doing a thesis project on the Transylvanian Saxons of Romania... This why | am required to travel to this ancient land for three weeks in order to accomplish this task. Romania has to be on of the most ancient and unspoiled lands in Europe. The land has a sense of mysticism which | cannot put to words. One day | would like to spend a lot more time there, and perhaps someday this will come to pass. Two long years of silence and serenity have passed since the release of WINDIR's debut album "Soknardalr”... In fact, | had enough material for the recording of "Arntor" but | always found a song which wasn't good enough, so | dumped it. This situation continued for almost two years, when | | realized that | had composed an album that really suited WINDIR's concept. Besides this | will of perfection, there were some external reasons for this delay : | spent some time in jail and thus couldn't record anything for the band. | also had troubles with the police because of my music and particular way of life. Musically speaking, | would say that the compositions on “Arntor" have the same basic _ lines as before, the Northern black metal roots are still there. But the arrangements have __ been better than before. | also think that my music has developed a lot, reflecting my gro- i wing maturity. The debut album dated back from the period of 1993-97, so some of the | __ material now sound very old. Some songs on "Arntor" are taken from Norwegian folk music... | think this source of inspiration comes from my inner nationalistic thoughts. | only use the folklore which is from my own village and | try to build special atmospheres with the melo- dy lines. | do see myself as a local patriot as | only take interest in local folklore. | live iso- lated in the Sognefjord, which is situated in the western part of Norway and there is nobo- dy else than myself who is involved in this type of music here. Besides folk music, | also __ listen to black metal, music from the sixties and seventies as well as classical composers. Darkness can be found in many different Wee) styles... _ With fierce screams on top, your lyrics only a with the old beliefs and supersti- ions that are found in your home place, Sogndal... __ My message is to tell people about Sogndal and the mighty gods which | believe in. My lyrics are sung in Sognamal, : which is my native tongue. The erigin of this language is _ Norse, and those words sound very original to your ears. This isn't a knowledge, it is how we talk in our daily life. | have read as much as | could about my own accent. It is a very interesting cultural heritage use our dialect has survived the period of industrialisa- tion. ‘Bul the constant resents a threat to the preservation of our dia- now. The recor- ire to preserve a fe-recording of “From the Ruin Of Paradise" from the second album cult PUISSANCE special for this release. Your own label Breath Of Night Records was created only to release underground cults you are per- sonaily a fan of... | have no regard for album sales or big marketing schemes. | dont want to deal with the music industry andas — of yet you will only find my albums where they belong, deep in the underground. | will never allow my albums to be accessible in supermarkets . | have no desire to destroy the integrity of my releases. Coming soon on Breath Of Night Records will be the second album from Czechia's AVENGER, called "Fall of Devotion, Wrath and Blasphemy”. | have also just signed PROPHECY from France, and | will be releasing their latest demo “Jadis" as a mini CD, with killer packaging as this unbelievable recording deserves. : n unexpected musical direc- ial black metal genre that have already passed Since the release of the time needed for Fenriz and Nocturno | RAVES ‘ — 4 SRIMNESS n "Ravishing Grimness” melt violent and convulsive pas- sages ("To The Death", “The Beast’), together with more melan- cholic and nostalgic atmospheres (‘The Claws Of Time"). Bruised with hatred, fed with disgust for humanity, the vocals evoke strong images that will haunt your sleep with their taste of cold and eter- nal forests. Being the essence of what is not in your head but in your soul, this album is definitely what you could expect from one of the most influential bands in the field of Nordic black metal. jot Found / Voices Of Wonder NOTRE DAME “Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You" Sweden / 25'38 / Horror gothic/black metal / + + + +b oughout this debut mini CD, Notre Dame alternates feel with heaviness, witnessed by the presence of double bass driven modes.and all out gothic black metal next to an ample piano Usage, emotive laden workouts and sensitive intros that mostly "develop into.heavier mould songs. Technique is controlled and _ highlighted in the mid-sections and transitions. The vocals are screamy with a Considerable coverage and the instrumentation _ has a classical backbone complimented by the use of keyboards and female whispers. "Coming Soon To A Theatre, Near You" proudly shows Notre Dame's)songwriting abilities anda large flexibility which is a definite plus. GRIEVANCE "The Phantom Novels” Norway /37'51 / Dark progressive metal / + + + + Grievance has opted for a sound that is contemporary and has body all along the line. The dark metal element is intact and put up front since songs are fairly souped up by a mixture of Swedish death metal passages with black metal ones. As for the song structures, most of its essence lies within this catchy drive of thythmic riffage, that is cleverly coupled with powerful keyboard parts and some clean vocals. A promising Norwegian duo that holds a special place in the dark metal genre. CYBELE "Songs Of Soil" Norway / 25'49 / Gothie/melancholic rock / + + + Fusing both raw and fragile melancholic moods, Cybele bring a faithful follow up to their debut "Brightly Blackhearted’. This alt female five piece band from Oslo has again composed a fine blend of Swans, Dead Can Dance and Type O Negative, with an emphasis on the atmospheric and beautiful melodies. Featuring anew and stronger vocalist, "Songs Of Soil" is a field for delica- te emotions. : ~ WINDIR.'Arntor" way / 46'14 / Symphonic blaek metal / oh hob ob + fo years have already passed sinee the release of the first and excellent WINDIR's album, "Soknardal™. Two years during which the soul of Valfar has gained the emotive power necessary to surpass itself and to perfect a weighty work in the black metal art. -of Arcturus, especially regarding the compositions of “Arntor" mix rulsive parts with symphonic and anned in a Norwegian dialect, deep pictures that will charm your frozen and eternal snow. This album is in terms of pure Northern biack metal. Musically close to the so majestic ol conspicuously vi Sognamal, th soul with their ¢ incontestably Album RWebtews n by Laurent MICHELLAND Guidelines Country Running time Musical style Comment HELLSTORM “Fucking Bleed” Nomay / 39'05 / Blackened death/thrash / 4 Aftera7" EP with a harsh and primitive sound, Helistorm is back with its debutaloum. While not black metal by any stretch of the imagination, this band chums out an aggressive blend of death and thrash metal that is quite infectious, Placed in competition with the releases of Aura Noir and Nocturnal Breed, “Fucking Bleed" brings another tribute to the metal spirit of the eighties with a brutally powerful in your face delivery. Aftermath Music NOCTURNAL WINDS "Everlasting Fall” Finland / 45°06 # Melodic death/black metal / ++ dae As a clever mixing Ofatmospheric black metal with refined death metal, “Everlasting Fallis a well-doné melting pot with an emphasis on the technical side and dominated by powerful vocals. The skilled musicians of Nocturnal Winds have composed a complex album whose charisma equals their technical level. Enriched with dark arrangements and gathering ability with ambi- tion, this promising debut plunges your soul in a dark musical season Cold Meat Industry MZ. 412 "Nordik Battle Signs” Sweden / 47'03 / Sataitic black indusifial / + + + + + “Nordik Battle Signs* firsticame out as vinyl at the end of 1998, here is now the CD version with 1 additional track. The follow up to "Burning The Temple Of God", the ultimate crossover between dark ambience and the metal genre, features an abundance of samples which is threaded through the frozen, ritualistic percus- sion thawed by crispy, soulfrying distortion music. The samples are of the expected hellish nature, as wellas some that carry a thick, German vibe, Amidst an array of exploding, percussive bombs, Satan's favourite son arises... SEPHIROTH “Cathedron" 44'50 / Dark tribal etno ambient / + hk Sephiroth was created by Ulf Séderberg through a burning inter- est for myths, rituals as well as enigmatic monuments and places erected by mankind itself. Influence by Graeme Revell, Lustmord and Nurse With Wound, "Cathedron" relates stories about the inexorable and destructive power of time, mankind's futile attempts of resistance, the sunken cities, fallen towers and over= grown ruins that this has resulted in. Dark eerie soundscapes and ritualistic drums are here combined with own field recordings from places like Cairo, Iceland and gloomy Nordic forests. Sephiroth's music whispers about the Gods we are desperately trying to appease, only for then finding ourselves dying before the monuments we spent our lives building. ATARAXIA “Lost Atlantis” Italy / 51'54 / Sunken ethereal music / 4 +b bh bb Allantis is an atavic heritage in all of us, wherever we come from, whoever we are, Two civilizations fought a terrible war that led them to disappear. Before being engulfed by the oceans, they left signs to possible future inhabitants of the earth so that they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes. Ataraxia For three years, Ataraxia has been working with the translation into musi of the ancestral myth of the sunken land present in all the ancient scriptures of every faith, philosophy and country. With “Lost Atlantis", the Italian band describes the origin of man- kind through the left symbols and create a pagan opera that owns a deep sacral flavour. " ESTHETICKS OF CRUELTY "Various Artists" @ afi unequalled docu- fish bands. The music ial, Musique concrete and “ground for the past 8 years, Oppressor have ou th ch ch oh oe he A masterpiece th hb oh he Excellent th he be > Good tet Average + + Could be better + Boring Near Dark Productions BLOTMINE “Porphyrogenesis” Sweden / 37°42 / Swedish black metal /+ ++ Formed by ex-members of Setherial, Blotmine develops a very fast and aggressive black metal style, played in the pure Swedish technical vein. "Porphyrogenesis' is nothing but an unholy, violent and devilish musical tale in which the spirit of the goat is the mas- ter. Born of hatred and damnation, this blasphemous plague évokes the ghost of a war to come. Yet it has already begun... {NTO THE SUNLESS MERIDIAN “into The Sunless Meridian" USA / 67'51 / black/speed metal / + ++ Into The Sunless Meridian was formed in 1994 by Mike Bayusik of Night Conquers Day and he is still the only member. His debut full length album could be described as a mix of power, atmos- pheric, black, speed and old school death metal from a musician who has truly lived for this music since 1985. No more has to be said concerning this release, its not retro-trendy, but a musical piece composed by a man who has been into it since the dawn of metal. Spikefarm Records SILENTIUM “Infinita Plango Vulnera" Finland / 47'30 / Gothic doom metal / +4 yaa Melodic, depressive and beautiful, “Infinita Plango Vuinera” conti- nues the tragic musical story that My Dying Bride once started with the "Turn Loose The Swans” album. Silentium has a deep taste for romantic gothic/doom melodies expressing sorrow, grief and the feeling that you are doomed for eternity. The dismal light Of despair and musical refinement runs throughout this very sen- sitive release. A nostalgic debut album,evoking the perfume of a talented, yet promising band, ENTWINE “The Treasures Within Hearts" Finland £ 36'52 / Romantic gothic metal / + + + + "The Treasures Within Hearts” features gothic atmospheres that aré here mixed with heavy riffs. This doesn't sound disturbing but father reinforces the mournful mood of Entwine's debut album. The band succeeds in building an intimate ambience that leads you towards dreamy horizons, towards the nightsky and its char- ming countless stars. Nothing but the process of seduction through romantic words and elegant sounds. Black Sun Records/ Focusion EBONY TEARS “A Handful Of Nothing" Sweden / 30'37 / Progressive death metal / #4 From a general point of view, "A Handful Of Nothing” sounds more aggressive, brutal and thrashy than their debut album *Tortura Insomniae*. Ebony Tears still incorporates elements of German speed metal, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and even dark gothic metal to enrich their death metal repertoire played in the pure Swedish tradition. A musical variety that is also strengthened by the use of violin, keyboards and female vocals. Serious Entertainment GORGUTS “Obscura” Canada /61'01 / Death metal / t-b + + From the frozen tundra comes the return of Gorguts... Their third offering, the concept album “Obscura”, combines the trademarlk style of “Erosion Of Sanity" and “Considered Dead" with over 60 minutes of extreme music : the abject terror of being confronted with something very powerful and barbarian. Reaching new levels of intensity, this new opus gives a new life to.a band that was already formed back in 1989. WITHOUT GRIEF "Absorbing The Ashes" Sweden / 3729 / Death metal / +++ “Absorbing The Ashes* shows Without Grief froma slightly chan- ged angie. The songs and the overall sound have become hea- vier and more straight forward than on the meiodic and instru- mentally complex debut albuny *Deflower". The outcome is short, catchy death metal songs blasting out your speakers and haun- ting your mind, AUTUMN LEAVES "As Night Conquers Day" Denmark / 52'21/ Death metal / ++ ++ It's been more:than 2 years since the release of the debut CD "Embraced By The Absolute". The new material on "As Night ConquersDay" differs in various points from the debut album. This time, all the members have contributed with their own mate- tial, forming both the musical and lyrical direction for the new album, which has been a positive experience. Autumn Leaves skilfully blends the brutality of U.S. death metal with raw and ~ melodic elements of the Swedish style and the result is fast, tech- fe. melodic and brutal death metal. OPPRESSOR "Elements or Corrasion $2'08 / Death metal /++ + a ig built a name for themselves in the death efforts with their newest release "Elements Of third album shows that the band stays true to the time pushing the envelope of musi that those veterans still have extreme death metal songs. _ Becee decided to form a pact, : for and appreciation of the movement of the eigthies and the melan- USA /51'07 / Black/death metal / + ' Lo Arising from the ashes of Demonic Christ, Darkmoon spawns musical chaos and fury but still broods with melodic atmospheres ies that have plundered in this world, the sense- less killings of their people, the raping of their land and of their women. With hate and rage, “Seas Of Unrest’ testifies that Christ has been @ cancer of our society and nature, coupled with his vile ways shall be banished and his light dimmed for eternity. Only then, will our minds, bodies and spirits be free from oppression and our ancestors avenged. Earache Records MORTIIS "The Stargate" Sweden /59'50 / Dark dungeon music / +b + ae ob +b ob This concept album based on the realm of the stars has more to offer than the usual atmospheric releases. The wait was long but it was worth because "The Stargate” features noting but only strong moments of musical substance. This time Mortis has cleverly included fe long compositions, giving a new dimension to this soundtrack which could be used {0 illlistrate a space movie. His fourth full length albumisounds like an amalgam of medieval atmospheric melodies, industrial sounds and cold emotions. While listening to this subtle and eerie piece of art, you'll see the shades of a ghost, walking all alone in the deep silence of his creative castle, Enter the secrets of Mortiis' kingdom... You'll never be the same after this experience. i Gerephonaus ABYSSOS "Shinsthanian Nightbreed" ‘Sweden / Black/death metal / 61'11/+ 4+ - Still evolving in a typically Swedish and very. well play black/death repertoire, ABYSSOS seems however ni prone to vary its musical expression. Though the band | time integrated more melodic, theatrical and clear chant pas- Sages, one must just acknowledge that the sound remains expli- of this lack of ardour, daring and Fhinstanian Nightbreed” becomes tr adventurous. By favouring the et ABYSSOS remains at the moment DAWN OF RELIC Finland / 44'48 / Dark metal / + Alternating between calm acoustic pi sections, Dawn Of Relic prefer to retain an air of mystery and anonymity about them which serves their unusual style of dark metal, “One Night In Carcosa” explores mythical tales of cosmic worlds that use Lovecraft as a blueprint and focal poin musical and lyrical. variety that surrounds them. The mythology of the Ancients, the star or moon Of Al doomed me ‘of Samath and the dreamlands of of the bat d's Subject matter, this release is an “enough subtlety | erest from beginning __ USA/34'30/ Brutal death metal / +++ a brutal extreme ake. you see the The highly Satanic horde shows no merey for the false souls and hammers your brain with endless tales of damnation and an ove- all barbarian approach. Sounding like a call from the goat, this album is a persuasive testimony of hateful and warlike spirits. AMSVARTNER "Dreams" Sweden / 47'35 / Progressive death metal / ++ Second release and debut full length album from Amsvartner, which have developed incredibly since the mini CD, Impossible to pigeon hole, "Dreams" combines classic Carcass, Dark Tranquillity, early Gorefest style riffs with Dream Theater like pre- cision to give birth to an original sound. The band now also uses a combination of clear melodic vocals on some tracks and an aggressive style on others, whilst one song even has a funked up bass line that rips. An unexpected musical evolution to say the least Qsmose Productions MARDUK "Panzer Division Marduk" Sweden / 30'04 / Extreme black metal / + +b + The war continues with a new battle and sure that the blood will flow in an endless rivet of hatred. “Panzer Division Marduk" is undoubtedly the band's most outrageous and destructive sonic effort. There is absolutely no time to breath, the canons of death are ready to attack and proudly lead this march towards the final _ holocaust. Marduk members really master their own brutal style and suc- ceed in giving a new dimension to their raw and incredibly speed _ sharp toned compositions. Experience the most blasphemous and harshest music ever created by mankind. ANOREXIA NERVOSA "Sodomizing The Archedangel" France / 17'13 / Vampyric black metal / ded sk ob 4 Far away from the experimental debut album “Exile”, "Sodomizing The Archedangel" shows a new musical identity that takes its roots in the fast symphonic black metal style. This new mini CD is the symbol of a new birth for Anorexia Nervosa They have indeed come back to the hateful black metal sounds while developing a déeply orchestral approach and impressive vocals, This picture is really appealing and one can definitely expect the best fror | their upgoming second full length album "Drudenhaus" : Holland./ 42'17 / Following the "M Australia / 64'12 / Noisy deat Seen as one of the most extre Sadistik Exekution is back wi noisy, brutal and fast, "K.a.o.s.’ field of aggression and violence. Si be connected to pure energy rath king. As time passes by, this b: shouldn't change much in the near futui properly spea- the same and mpromise. ANGELCORPSE "The h ~ Angelcorpse’s third album is again characterized by an extreme Formed back in 1986, Mer death/thrash bands to emerge from the Swedish land. Their cult status is mainly due to the e-teleased and it's a good way to rediscover a musical aggression inspired by inactivity, this underground Bewitched are already back with their haunting message “Christianity must end. No mercy, simply deal with it...". The ban- 's musical hasn't changed as well, they still try to revive the spi- rit of the 80's with a hellish speed metal repertoire. "At The Gates Of Heil" also features a cover version of Thor's “Let The Biood Run" (1985) and Thor himself did most of the vocals on Bewitched's version. Despite Blackheim (guitar) and Reapers (drums) recent departure, the Swedish band is still here for the glory of the previous decade. DEMONIAC “The Fire And The Wind” New Zealand / 42'52 / Heavy power metal / + With three new musicians, Demoniac is now a totally new band with a new sound, Exit the black metal sounds of their past, the horde now plays an epic form of power metal, supported by a solid energy and a good production. Recorded at the famous Academy Studio, “The Fire And The Wind" shows an unexpected musical turn, that will remind you of the old heavy metal days. Holy Records SEPTIC FLESH "Revolution DNA" Greece / 59'50/ Sick metal {+ + “Revolution DNA" marks the beginning of a new era for SEPTIC FLESH. This time, they have abandoned the epic passages as well as the beautiful female vocals to put an emphasis efficacy and power. Sounding definitelywmore metal than their previous releases, the new, compositions are filled with intense guitar melodies, a sharp mhythmesection, an ocean Ofvexperimental samples as well’@S @ duel Of malewvocals. A turning-point in Septic Flesh’s career SOULGRIND "Kalma” Finland / 45'52 / Criminal heavy black / +b 44+ Previous known for their avant garde works, Soulgrind is back with a rather straight forward metal approach. Between melodies, harmonies, hateful creams, aggressive guitars and depressive keyboards, "Kalma" is presented as a symbol of pagan pride. Mastermind Lord Heikkinen has always been fascinated by the past of his native land and this album is a way for him to express his love for Nordic power. Featuring all Gloomy Grim members, the new face of Soulgrind evokes the melting of cultures, of black metal voices and voluptuous female vocals, sung both in Finnish and English. SUP "Chronophobia" France / 48'21 / Freezing metal /+-+ + + On each album, Sup—presents—a new concept, this time “Chronophobia’ relates a story based on twins brothers separa- ted at birth through space and time. An unexpected countdown will eventually bring them together again into death, somewhere in the North pole. This amazing story is musically illustrated by an avant garde style, between death metal and cold wave. An ofigi- nal and interesting story across an oppressive musical style. NATRON "Negative Prevails" Italy / 4002 / Brutal death metal /# + + "Negative Prevails* features brutal death metal in the Morbid Angel! / Cannibal Corpse tradition, with powerful vocals and rip- ping guitars. Inspired by horror movies and serial killers, Natron's second album is a disturbing exploration of brutality. A ferocious and hard-driving style of death metal with a powerful in-your-face delivery. NIGHTFALL "Diva Futura” Greece / 49'20/ Metal / + + + With two new members, Nightfall has opted for a more accessible Sound, that finds its roots in the basic metal style. "Diva Futura" is an eclectic collection of sounds showing a new face of Efthimis compositions. They used to be called the chosen ones at the time of the epic war metal hymns ("Macabre Sunsets"), now they are the metal ones. This release will divide the listeners into two camps, the nostalgic of the epic era and those who are more into the current heavy metal revival. Choose your side. Season Of Mist / Rape Of Mind .-AND OCEANS "The Symmetry Of I, The Circle Of O” Finland / 40'54/ Atmospheric metal fob + + Played in the vein of their excelient debut album, “The Symmetry Of |, The Circle Of O" still bo tween an atmospheric and fast form of intense black metal Armed with a deep Finnish feel, the versatile repertoire here pro- posed combines enchanting keyboards passages a la Dimmu Borgir or Limbonic Art with aggressive riffs and accelerations close to Marduk and Dark Funeral's. With a lot twists and techni- cal turns, ... And Oceans signs here a more than convincing fol- low up to the acclaimed "The Dynamic Gallery Of Thoughts”. THE BLEEDING LIGHT “The Bleeding Light" France / 55'49 / Dark industrial metal / ++ Recorded at famous Tico-Tico studio in Finland, The Bleeding album could be described as a mix of in Slaughter rong dose of The Fields Of The Nephilim for the Wumpscut when it comes to the samples and Was one of the very first that their debut album "The commandment sometime — fer two full length - albums, a mini CD and a five album, 3 bbe , this second opus monious scream of distress “Onwards Into Battle" could be des- cribed as a wide mosaic of mixed feelings, in which each piece ‘Succeeds in bringing a particular element to produce a charmin 'g ensemble. Half angel, half demon, the music. displayed by this Norwegian band runs through a personal style that can't be easi- ly compared te any other band of today’s scene. ABADDON INCARNATE “The Last Supper" lreland/ 36°02 / Extreme death metal / 4 ++ Abaddon Incarnate establishes themselves as one of the most violent bands to emerge from the quite unknown Irish death metal underground. “The Last Supper” starts the band's saga with a repertoire of isolation and carnage. These blistering musi- cal tales are highlighted by flesh-ripping low-tuned guitars and harsh vocals. Sure this band belongs to the current revival of the uncompromisingly brutal death metal genre: Kron-H DELLAMORTE "Home Sweet Hell" Sweden / 3816 / Swedish death metal / + -h Recorded at famous Abyss Studio, Dellamorte’s second album marks a revival of the Swedish death metal genre of the early ninetiess-lf, you're nostalgic of the early works of bands like Entombed, Dismember or Edge Of Sanity, then "Home Sweet Hell" may interest your hears. With a focus on brutal, fast and cru- shing death metal compositions, this band brings back to the gol- den days of the Scandinavian death metal scene. A ticket to the past. Drakkar Productions CELESTIA “A Cave Full Of Bats” France / 18'57 / Black metal / + + ++ By way of initiation to Celestia’s musical world, this mini CD mixes the feelings of hate and blackness to illustrate the picture of a duet fallen into the night power. Because, like the name suggests it, “A Cave Full Of Bats’ is place without light, a cursed land. The four compositions open, same as coffins, to illustrate in the guise of a black metal bringing together the keyboard harmony to the terrific chaos of the roaring, the riff coherence to the diversity of the atmospheres. The rhythm is fast, fiercely avenging and expresses well this desire of terror. The evil journey of Celestia has yet begun, by waiting the first album of its next adventures in the infernal regions. WARLOGHE "The First Possession" Finland / 34'13/ Biack metal / + +h Through a deluge of agression and hate, "The First Possession" redefines the true black metal essence. Primitive and raw, the compositions featured on Warloghe's debut album form a chalice Of cold blood, in which blasphemous riffs dance with incantatory vocals while haunting atmospheres rise from the realm of Hades. These lords of supreme evil have droppedia bomb of chaotic and unholy black metal. Deadsun Records GODLESS TRUTH "Burning Existence” Czech Republic / 41'53 / Brutal death metal / + a Hailing from the Olomouc area in the Eastern front, this under- ground band has been playing together for already.5 years. 1998 saw the re-release on CD format of the “Desperation” demo and: now, it's time for another sick album. “Burning Existence* consists of technical brutal death metal compositions mixed with aggres- sive tiffs, fast precise drums and heavy vocals. All in al, another piece of sheer, intense and uncompromising death metal brutali- ty from the Slav shores. MENTAL ABERRATION "Victim Of Its Own Sort" Germany / 26'34 / Grind Death Metal / ++ + Suffocatingly violent grinding death metal from this teutonic horde. Mental Aberration mixes low-tuned guitars with guttural vocals to create a claustrophobic atmosphere that is shattered by frequent high-pitched guitar breaks and unearthly screams. Chilling background sounds effects of human mutilation are fea- tured in "Victim Of Its Own Sort’, thus adding to the mood of this aggressive recording. Austria / 64°27 / The epic and adventur us finds all its i bewitching of beau From vaults spurts out an a ‘fepertoire, which carries the rening r mover structure. Intentionally refined, the 0 into service here with a rich orchestration 2 that recites a chant punctuated by th Each com will tead dreams and im Silenius and Prox painful, naked ABIGOR "CI Austria / 41'22 / Maj This very productive banc a rather straight forward any keyboards in order to ce of their compositions. Filled with a mystic black mi Quintessence Of Satan" shows ar | with the aggres- ing and with a total fe. After numerous releases of high quality, the by PK. has succeeded in remaining faithful to band pi plays the secrets of their soul. Without shyness , Tristania take their fe i hing female singing of © ting melodies reveal at din a most delightful- “Vibeke Stene and the depth o' every moment an unknown fo! ly inspired gothic black met ny of a band who gave bi OTYG "Sagovindars Br Sweden / 51'07 / Folk metal / ++ + This new album is a worthy continu; on their debut effort “Alvefard" as | late their Scandinavian roots should be gauged as folkloric magnificent vocals performed flavours here, in combinati Vocalage is supported by Phetrvindars Boning which violin, mouth-harp, willow flute and keyed fidal seduce your longing forthe ancient times. The bat pay a tribute to,Ronnie James Dio by covering the Diver in a sensational version, reinforeing Vintersor sim talent. One can expect a really/bright future for Otyg and the vee project. All inal, a highly recommended affair. ANGIZIA "Das Schachbrett Des Trommelbuben Zacharias”. Austria / 51'51 / Theatrical baroque music / + + + + Artistic, full of,aesthetics.and classical. atmospheres,."D; Second part of Angizia's Russian trilogy. The music amodern opera, with theatrical voices, the use of inst accordion, violoncello, classical and electric guitars as the basic instrument of this work. The story behind this release is mainly sung in Ge aim to express the atmospheres that embrace 1904 to 1941. This fiction will end with the next c present us the concept of a Russian circus in t the moment, enjoy this original piece of decad HOLLENTHON "Domus Mu Austria /45'19/ Dark metal /+eb Do you remember Punget Stench, th of the early nineties ? After the b. rist and vocalist Martin Schirene named Hollenthon, This transitional 1 that combines beginning marks an innovative approach lack and heavy metal with classical as well adding a distinctive twist to the com- positions. As @ blend of intriguing melody lines, effective rhythms @nd vivid lyrical contents, "Domus Mundi" leads you towards a web of mysticism, dynamism and intensity. A varied and forceful album f,epic proportions, CCP Records DORNENREICH "Bitter Ist's Dem Tod Zu Dienen" Austria / 58°03 / Poetic black metal / ++) & +b + Second album from this band whose name can only be connec- ted to words of praise. What makes Dornenreich stand apart from variable, story like vocalage and background usage of keyboards. The strong vocais of Eviga are sung spoken in German and nice- ly adapt to the tortured mood: nuSi : Austria / 49'37 / Gothic doom / + + + + After nearly three years and separation s, Kogler Matthias recorded Estatic Feat his of the songwriter, following his music and lyrics. combine classical melodies and tradit @n instrumental mixture of lute, fl in former times, full of myste- sd with bombastic fear. ric and raging black original. The vocalist erman sextet, growling ievable aggressiveness. with Grabak are indeed presen- DAYLIGHT TORN "Death Alone Fro / 45'11 / Melancholic gothic doom /« ing depressive, gothic’ “melodies with jes, "Death Alone FromsLife Can field for eternal sorrow, fear, desperé » Daylight Torn's bleak melancholic r music / ob m and a recognizable n't sound like a collection of tranquil lat come by and fade away. The Trisona" is entirely based on the iolic moods that provide this . The compositions sound music and become one their previous efforts, this minds who look for refi- ich several choirs were involved chestra. Over a period of 14 ans worked on the creation of Spectrum of musical diver- , Lacrimosa’s sixth album ful expression of its story the unique and passionately . This release is dedicated to Sreek mythology, who has been a nily since their "Inferno" album, As the ath, she now tells the tale of a love that doomed to fall, culminating in the question of whether love in excess can become a force that ultimately has the power to des- troy itself, whether too much love will. Embrace the world of " and you'll hear the whispered answers... Shiver Records. FAERGHAIL "Horizon's Fall” t/ Melodic black metal / d+ + + ns.of the Finnish black metal scene, Faerghail $ that combine the strength of raw black metal 'Horizon's Fall". As a bonus, this release also\features 4 addlitio- racks which in fact formed their debut demo "Dark Oceans EARTHCORPSE "The Taste Of Sin" { K 7 47'55 / Melodic Doom Metal / + ++ + + Hailing from the small island of Guernesey, Earthcorpse revives the tradition of British doom metal. While bands such as Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride have abandoned this genre, this five piece act continues to bring a rich mixture of melodic and brutal riffing. Their second album "The Taste Of Sin" succeeds in brin- ging forth an emotional style of doom and death metal without the addition of female vocals, choirs, violins or any other non-metal elements. A work filled with both pure and raw doom metal as well as fragile and melancholic moods. RHYMES OF DESTRUCTION "A Sun Revolution" Belgium / 66'31 / Symphonic pagan metal / + + + The music on "A Sun Revolution” is the right continuation of where they left off on their debut album "Requiem / In Remembrance Of Your Gods", released back in 1996, The band and better skilled in terms of songwri- you of the band's early days, is again mixes black/death lassical parts. Such an gan feelings that are athen beliefs of our i ancestors life in mes Of Destruction's sec etal passages with doomy, mek image is enriched with symphon expressed through lyrics dealing with forefathers and other mse sides of ancient times. As a follow up to "Overshine’, thi Sarnath to reach the audien efinitely a way for nced and late fal influenced by h_ sound. Those ixing aggression Ognition to Sarnath. ANCIENT "The Hails Norway / 61'32 / Black metal / "Mad Grandiose Bloodfiend: to ANCIENT, but its success tives. Being the sign of t Eternity" is the witness of black metal. Hate | aggressive and i album still remains a too chaotic mus! release will be al the mighty "S' azel's moves, "The Halls Of , the songs become more More direct approach. But this main weaknesses being due to is hope that the next ANCIENT K the brilliance once reached with ORPSE “Bloodthirst" L/h he thirst", Cannibal Corpse recruited pro- the man responsible for the recordings of USA / 34'37 / I to come back to the roots — Carcass, Napalm Death and Fi 5 SIX FEET UNDER "M; USA/ 37°27 / Death metal / + Formed as a side=project by, Allen West in 1993, Six Feet U | athe oke death metal roots while Bames. is again back with his trademark gory lyrics and his former vocal style. Undoubtedly, Six Feet Under's most brutal effort. IMMOLATION “Failures For Gods* USA / 40217 Death metal / + 4 ae After two solid full length releases, "Dawn Of Possession and “Here in After", ag well as extensive touring in both the US and Europe, Immolation is poised to bring forth their anticipated third album. Unexpected twists and turns, bizarre time signatures, chil- ling leads, sombre fiffs and heart felt vocals make up “Failures For Gods" : an unholy death metal style that has been built slow- ly over many years. With this powerful and heavy release, Immolation has paid their dues to their thirteen year existence. Serenades Records GRAVEWORM "As The Angels Reach The Beauty” Germany / 42'19 / Atmospheric blaek metal / + + + + With a definite taste for fast rhythms and nostalgic atmospheres, “As The Angels Reach The Beauty" not only has the quality of gold but also some unexpected chill. In a refined and atmesphe- tic black metal manner, Graveworm definitely gained sincerity, emotions and brightness in comparison with their previous releases. The title and the cover of this third portrait are already beautiful and contemplative, as this album that is no other than that of a passion for adventure and conquest. From there comes a seductive grab sent on the listener by appealing and brilliantly orchestrated compositions. They are as many ed meetings with ephemeral beauty. PENUMBRA “Emanate" France / 48'38 / Classical — = -* Following Haggard's footsteps, Penumbra is an astonishing thea- trical troupe gathering no less than 12 musicians. The band’s musical influence mainly comes from the realm of classical music but also from bands such as Theatre Of Tragedy, Therion and Nightwish. One might easily described “Emanate” as an album that unites classical music with black, death and gothic metal . They have managed to create their own distinct style, which will hopefully grant them a promising future. Last Episode Productions MYSTIC CIRCLE "Infernal Satanic Verses" Germany / 48'59 / Melodic black metal / + + & + Mystic Circle's aim is to make anti-Christian music in honour of their two gods, Satan and Wotan. Since "Drachenblut", their music has developed further again, the songs are varied and got a lot of power, aggression and dark energy. "Infernal Satanic Verses" is a blasphemous work full of great morbid melodies and with Sarah Jezebel Deva who casts a spell on everyone with her voice. The songs tell about the fight of the fallen angels’ legions of Satan against the legions of Heaven. A struggle that lasted for thousands of years and still makes Heaven and Hell rumbie with anger. , "Lays From Afar" is an old s the entrance of a hero through sed on mythological facts and into another ny / 48'46 / Melodic black metal / ++ + + i archdemons of hell conjure us with their second album, presents a more ver: sca he jepertotte yn "Im Schattenreich". ged sound, “Flammeni ek metal tracks with dark, ve aggression. An overall anti- re lies above the songs, whi through the changing vocals fro NEBULAR MOON " Germany / 39'53 / Gothic black There are bands which invent, fe imagination, others which, the past of their work, to put in their previous creations. Fe “songs are gathered around four different parts. From "Steeple Of ~ Forgotten Knowledge" to “Dark Dormant Desires*, these young _ Musicians Originating from Colognes relate us an imaginary story which alternately presents the storm and blood Sumerian God, Ninurta, the sorrow of the dethroned angel and his freedom wish, as the painful experience of amorous feelings. An ambitious album which should nevertheless require more mastery to com- plete its interpretation. DUNKELGRAFEN “Baphomet's Aeon" Germany / 46'31 / Black metal / + + + + Hear them calling... Open the eyes of your immortal soul and fol- low their appearance. They embrace the world which lies in deep pains. The shadows of eternity embrace the throne of the dark in the shady kingdom of Dunkeigrafen. Become one with them, one withia second album that clears up the mistakes of past times. “Baphomet's Aeon" presents a varied black metal that makes you forget the tentative steps of "Schatten Der Ewigkeit”. ANDRAS "Sword Of Revenge” Germany / 59'16 / Black/death metal / + Hailing from East Germany, Andras made a name for.themselves through the underground black metal scene with’the release of their debut album "Die Riickkehr Den Dunklen Krieger". Armed with a new line-up, the band'has recorded an effort that distin- guishes itself by more dynamics and more power because of new __ influences from the traditional metal sector with some loans from the thrash and death metal styles. “Sword Of Revenge" definite- ly rests upon a raw and cruel black metal repertoire, thus reflec- ting some lyrics that are deeply rooted into the fields of occultism, warfare and legends of their Teutonic ancestors. Sofistitium Records CRYOGENIC “Celephais" Germany / 49'59 / Atmospheric black metal / ++ ++ Having an excellent reputation on their home underground scene that is Germany, Cryogenic are giving us an album full of pro- mises, announcing a real desire for a personal interpretation. Melt with keyboards, trapped in the slow rhythms of dusk, “Celephais” songs act on us like a whirl teasing your senses and finds the right way to express the intimate chaos of its fathers. Sometimes heavy, lascive or atmospheric, these uniform, obsessing lines create more than a deadly atmosphere : the very image of a burial. GORBALROG “Untergang" Germany / 48'20 / Black metal / 4 + Starting out under the form of a raw and brutal black metal band, Gorbalrog has gradually evolved towards more melodic and epic musical horizons. Zargonath {all guitars, vocals) and Mortynoth (drums, keyboards, vocals) have composed a new material that is based upon hymnic structures, but without losing the sense of strength and brutality. "Untergang" can still be labelled as a black metal piece but not in the usual sense. There is here a deeper approach when listening to the music and reading the lyrical contents created by this original duet. Prophecy Productions EMPYRIUM "Where At Night The Wood Grouse Plays" Germany /32'29 / Dark and tragic folkloric music / + + + * Very long-awaited, thisnew album of Empyriumis@ se, of an astounding beauty. Entirely realised with truments, "Where At Night The Weed Grouse Piays” suggests that the Germanic duet isn’t required to decide, in a draconian way, on the behaviour oftheir compositions. They accompany them, guide them, butet them a liberty margin. Following the example of the second album of Ulver, “Kveldsfanger’, the access tovthis bewitthed garden go through our mother Nature, where the tragi¢'choirs, the pastoral melodies and the folkloric ambiences aré as much flours of the imagination. Scattered by the great wind, their pollen hasn't finished to come down in bies- sed shower on our heads, in this intimate work where coexist the contemplation, the knowledge and the imagination. TENHI “Kauan" Norway / 52'24 / Dark folkloric music / +d bee The majestic journey which Started with the “Hallavedet* mini CD close your eyes and you are one with the 1 it so that it may never end... Deeply bea’ minds... Germany / 6194 / s ucceeded in recording ce vel diversified Combining element: metal to ambient mi er, the guitarist of . cin The ‘Woods, "A re for the conform and close-minded itional session vocals performed by Jan- Perverted Taste BERGTHRON "Uralte Gedanken" Germany / 19'34 / Symphonic black metal / + + + The follow up to the already promising "Verborgen In den Tiefen Der Walder" asserts Bergthron's talent to compose an epic black metal sound filled with dark heroic emotions and great sympho- nic passages. "Uralte Gedanken' is stuffed with a sombre sity, offering a wide array of appearances that mo inspired, atmospheric songs and agility sections. The structures carry multiple r with tightness and punetuall i jewed out clichés. A 9 those who are into fever Dead, Coercion has opted barbarian death metal approach 1994, which is is now appearing und pack. Musically speaking, "As Ths into’ realm of depressive Nonwes ced by unforgettable Burzu chants of the marty reduced to ashes. Germany / 12'33 / Majestic black metal / 4 ob 4 +h + This German newcomer is really full of hopes regarding the futu- re. Their debut mini CD displays three tracks of symphonic an atmospheric black metal in the pure hateful vein. Suffering Souls have a deep taste for orchestration, their compositions with appealing epic keyboard "Cries Of Silence" is ; definitely a promising releas “split CD. shared . Since then, nume lorwegian band Mock (now tip changes have happened ir new face. Combining s, this long awaited mi heir native tongue, thus id aggressive mixture of ne vein of Merciless "The it is the sign of Had Kettenhund Record. LUNAR AURORA "Of Stargates ‘And Bloodstained Celestial Sphi Germany / 54'25 / Black metal / + & Since its creation in 1994, LUNAR AURORA has experienced lots of storms, avoided lots of wrecks, But constantly redoubling its efforts, the quartet signed here a third album which confers them the hopeful status. For if "Of Stargates And Bloodstained Celestial Spheres" is influenced by the foundations of the Norwegian black metal scene, one can see the scraps of an inter- esting personality, which requires only to dawn. Now that this band has gathered a solid content of erudition, it remains to wait patiently the release of the next opus , which would Unveil an identity, a complete maturity, in the course of construction at the moment. NAGELFAR "Srontgorrth" Germany / 70'02 / Black metal / ob ob Armed with a strong debut album and reputation within the “underground black metal scene, Nagelfar follows its unholy juest, this time with an entirely concept album. The verses rela- te the fictive story of a warrior named "Srontgorrth", who strives for the freedom of the unéonscious. The lyrical contents is trans- lated into music through various Chapters, reflecting the mental changes of the individual. Musically speaking, the repertoire is contemporary black metal, the moods being largely set on the vocals and the sound of the guitars. The story of a band who fights for the freedom of its dark art. Dark Vinyl Records PENITENT "Roses By Chaos Spawned" Norway / 50'19 / Neo-classical art / eh oh ae Penitent's fourth release displays beautiful and mournful music, that prevails by the variety of orchestral samples, though the piano and organ take the leading roles in several compositions, just like on the album "The Beauty Of Pain". On "Roses By Chaos Spawned", the vocal parts aren't performed by mastermind Karsten Hamre, the author of the poems, but by Mark Andrew Goldfine of Amidst The Leaves and Alone With Blades, whose expressive manner of performance fits the musie very well. Besides him, there is a quest vocal appearance of Ellen White on "A Bleeding Heart Of Desire’. Once again, Karsten Hamre proves that he is a talented composer, who transforms his emo- tions into an everlasting vision of musical melancholy, reflecting the true feelings of himself and of his very own personality. Morbid Records OBSCENITY "Demo-Niac" Germany / 50'17 / Brutal death metal / + & + In order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this well-known German act in the field of brutal death metal, here comes the release on CD format of the band's first demos, “Age Of Brutality and “Amputated Souls". This new remastefed version,|eads you to the early days of Obscenity, yet revealing their true personality with ol school riffs, deep growls and barbarian almospheres. A deadly birthday. : Hammerheart Records HADES ALMIGHTY "Millenium Nocturne" Norway / 58'47 / Majestic black metal / +h + oh + Previously known under the monicker of Hades, the Norwegian mories of old lands’ and folklore ique black metal style. Filled with tales of singular le reach the kingdom TRELLDOM "Til Et Annet..." way / 44'49 / Symphonic black metal / + ++ +b ++ irrored Hate Painti metal / ob ob + Australia to the realm of Norway. _tojoin the band Dimmu Borgi in Abyss studio. "Mirrored and sophisticated black met tyle, which is higI ~ Seen as the first sign There are a few this release, but the whol Norway / 3703/1 riod of two silent years, the "Norse" mini CD already @ very promising second full pheres brought in by “Fra Underverdenen®, you easily unders- tand why Kampfar is rightly considered as one the highlights th the field of the Viking black metal genre. Kampfar This talented and inspired duet succeeds in combining black metal passages with folk parts, giving birth to a personal sound, which may somehow remind you of Satyricon and Storm. Kampfar has been in existence ever since the very beginning of the Norwegian black metal scene, and believe me, this is not a coincidence; DIMMU BORGIR / OLD MAN'S CHILD "Devil's Path / In The Shades Of Life” Norway / 45'50 / Symphonic black metal - Atmospheric black metal / oh oh hee * "Devil's Path* and "In The Shades.Of Life" were originally relea- sed in limited edition as mini CD's in 1996. Now they are gathe- red under the banner of this pure Norwegian black metal orien- ted split CD. With a crue! and murderous,sound, Dimmu Borgir shows its diabolical black metal face through symphonic, hateful and aesthetic compositions. As for Old Man's Child, their epic and pagan black metal repertoire sounds more atmospheric than their latest work, with more atmospheric and Northern atmos- pheres. TULUS "Evil 1999" Norway / 35'00 / Black metal / d+ 4 Released in 1998 and introducing Sarah Jezebel Deva of Cradie Of Filth, Covenant and now Mortiis, Tulus second album entitled "Mysterion" stuck to their style of intense and energetic black metal, which you either love or hate. Their third chapter is unlea- shed upon the masses, with this time an overall improvement in terms of production, songwriting and aestheticism. Featuring Old Man's Child's live members, this skilled horde displays a great dese of Norwegian black metal power with an uncompromising and original spirit. OLD FUNERAL "The Older Ones" Norway / 48'23 7 Death metal / + + ++ Abbath (Immortal), Varg Vikernes (Burzum), Jorn Tonsberg (Hades Almighty)... All these names are linked to the short career of one band, Old Funeral, which started out at the end of the 80's and found its end in 1992. itis now possible for you to rediscover the band's harsh, brutal and original death metal repertoire influenced by Carcass and Morbid Angel and gathered on a single album. We will never know what OLD FUNERAL would sound if they still existed by now, but "The Older Ones" is here to bring you an answer from the past, Displeased Records / Rape Of Mind VESPERIAN SORROW “Beyond The Cursed Eclipse" USA/57'24 / Melodic black metal / 4 Within the sombre hills of central Texas, a new era had arrived to transform the stagnant and rekindled music scene of North America. Brought together from this realization, was the forma- tion of Vesperian Sorrow. They produce melodic black metal, with Oréhestrated atmospheres, combining many musical influences in their Compositions. Inspired by several oftheir counterparts, they have achieved a complex songwriting, with intricate arran- gements, and featuring moments of aggression and power, to be entranced into realms of dark beauty. THE KUNTAUTCULT "From The Pits..." Holland / 34'08 / Brutal death grind / + + Each on The Kuntaucult (ex-Bodybag)'s debutalbum cranks from start to finish drawing on influences ranging from Necrosanct to Napalm Death, yet creating a hyper blasting sound. This infa- mous trio plays an intense and uncompromising grind/death metal repertoire, "From The Pits..." being the mirror ripping gui- tars, over-the-top drums and hellish vocal bellowings. Fadetess Records VOMITORY "Redemption" Sweden / 33'147 Death metal / ++ ++ Played in the vein of their previous effort “Raped In Their Own Biood" but with a noticeable improvement in terms of songwriting and performance, Vomitory's second album See fast and now re-released on CD luding two bonus tracks, “Inbor® and “Encarta®. Strc lamic _afrangements, screaming guitars, vocals that range from demonic lows to soul- ripping highs and chaotic yet om hell describe the Diabolic assault upon the starving Z : five-song demonstration of blistering violence the previous albums, the musical’ esterday" etal / bebe fepertoire with a good sound. A\ “Subsconscious" reflects the band's loyalty t Iron Palm Produxions OLETHRIO RIGMA “Fight For The Innocent" Greece / 66'04 / Hardcore metal /-++b + This is Olethrio Rigma's second album, a band seen as the vete- fans Of the Greek hard core scene. The music now ineludes more metal elements, even though the band still shares the typical hardcore attitude and way of thinking. Harsh, extreme and realis- fic, “Fight For The Innocent" is a form of aggression sung in Greek, English and German with a no compromise approach. Bestial Records NEGURA BUNGET “Sala Molksa" Romania / 27°08 / Transyivanian black metal / + + ++ + Beyond times, beyond immortal mountains and endless forests, Negura Bunget revives the Transylvanian spirit. After the brilliant *Zimnindu-Sa" debut album, "Sala Molksa" appears as another beautiful vestige of the overwhelming Dacic spirituality. Nequra Bunget : The Romanian band cultivates black metal essence by mixing complex and enigmatic atmospheres with talent and inspiration. Haunting majestic keyboards counterbalance with grim vocals and fighting riffs. More than an odyssey towards primordial, ancestral and transcendent black metal, “Sala Molksa" is a step further into the world and spirituality of the ancients... Metal Age Productions LUNATIC GODS “Sitting By The Fire” Slovakia / 49'02 / Progressive techno thrash metal / 4 ++ Mixing a lot of different styles altogether, Lunatic Gods displays original metal music that has been bursting eardrums in the underground since the release of “Inhuman And Insensible”. With “Sitting By The Fire", the Eastern band combines elements of speed, thrash, death and atmospheric, melodic metal with a both brutal and refined delivery. Between light and darkness, the story of a band who likes to deal with the musical opposites and plays with fire and water. Avantgarde Music UNHOLY "Gracefalien™ Finland / 62'54 / Weird dark doom metal / + + b+ Undoubtedly, the musicians of Unholy are made for the tortured and hypnotic styles, to which they come back by greeting again the worlds of sadness and pain. To the thread of this fourth sen- timental ruination, these schizophrenics surprise the doubts of "Rapture", take away the pomp and lay out the strange secrets of their souls. Without modesty, Unholy undresses its feelings to make them painful statues, central and naked. Between the astounding female vocal of Vera Muhli and the deepness of the slow meiodies, there is here an unknown force which reveals itself to each instant and is exalted to the sound of a dark doom metal of the most inspired kind. The blasted fate of this band Which has given birth, not without pain, to the album of the consecration. KEEP OF KALESSIN “Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark” Nomway / 50'55 / Powerful black metal / bb + After the highly acclaimed "Through Times Of War", Keep Of : Kalessin introduces your soul inte another form of strong and fi _ €e black metal style that blows out everything with a great dose impartiality. Faster The dragon has finally awakens ce, Pazuzu can be heard ag Eridu. "Ili : The End Of Ages" is the darkness, atmospheres and ambiences. defined. Combini avant garde music: Mastermind relates us $} the Devil, of dreams and that renewal is at hand. ing the unforgettable listening experience brought by their album “The Linear Scaffold", Solefaid has composed an ristic and retrospective elements, the ava ed back to their older influences such lus listeners. BEHEMOTH "Satanic Poland / 43'24 / Slav black metal / + + hemoth's fourth assault is the io work led by mastermind New infamous Polish horde again ding raw black metal sount ristic vibe. Still influence this Eastern release shi f a long and fruitful st self as a producer. The is hateful talent, by blen- technology and a futu- and old Celtic Frost, id diversity of songs with an extremely devilish power. From the beginning to the end, there is no time to breath, the aggression and speed are endless to provoke your bestial thoughts. Lyrically speaking, the concept of "Satanica" is most courageous, bringing forth Kaosmagick theories inspired by such famous writers as Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, wrapped in a rather sophisticated vocabulary. There is no resi the strong ! OCTOBER TIDE "Grey Dawn" Sweden / 40°02 / Atmospheric doom death / a Jonas Renske,.the skilled drummer and Vocalist Katatonia, decided to express his talenteven further, giv this project, with the collaboration of Fredrik Normar acoustic and bass guitars. While his main band tuned towards more gothic soufds, Jonas felt the need to capture again the dark and heavy atmospheres once created at the time of "Dance Of December Souls". "Grey Dawn" is a cold, dissonant opus that will lead you straight into the grievous mental soundscapes of its creators. Featuring vocals performed by Marten Hansen of A Canorous Quintet, this personal interpretation of the sad doom/gothic style will undoubtedly charm the souls of those who are into early Katatonia as well as those who look for new way of expressing the endless feelings of melancholia Wounded Love Records POTENTIAM "Balsyn" ieeland / 52'02 / Atmospheric dark black metal / + + + Emerging from the Icelandic distant soil, Potentiam offers a dark and deep black metal debut album that comes with a wrapping, obscure sound and a refined production. There is no place here for fast or extreme parts, the band indeed prefer to put an emphasis on slow melodies and desperate moods to achieve its final goal. Enriched with an elusive musical expression, "Balsyn* Will intrude beneath your skin and chill your soul, haunting end- lessly your mind with its lugubrious, frightening landscapes. Scarlet / Luna P CON ANIMA "The Book Of Riddles" Norway / 43'53 / Gothic metal /+ + + Hailing from Sarpsborg,,Con Anima features the vocal perfor- mance of Stian Culto- , already known for his appearance in Mayhem and The Sh Dancers. The debut album “The Book Of Riddles" introduces t musical influences : drama- tic, emotional and metal with a gothic venue. An unconventional rel fo heavy metal fans looking for horrific scenarios, aths and spectral interludes. Mi Sweden / 39'03 / Mi Influenced by the Moonstruck debut al piration from the classic heavy ‘sonal and melancholic approach nospheres. France / 48'02 / Progressive Using keyboards, flute and oth has developed the dreamy side of puts an emphasis on the atmosp! while the lyrics are deeply rooted in merge the music and the lyrics, this Norbert Tassi, a French writer influ Lovecraft. Each song should be seen a: of dreams and lore. "Save me from thi winds don't blow". compared to t ply revives the Pentagram ! Repulse Records. CENTINEX "Bloodhun blistering: guitar riffs of Kenneth “Bloodhunt® pounds through. its $i c Ings at a mind-splattering pace. Another addi metal collection. pain / 21'17 / Melodic flat ight To Die presents its deb elodic death metal with co music. Each of the emphasis on weird m | Evil Crying" puts an ind on the will to crea- ‘ort of music you would rat an insane asylum. Of Blasphemy" | / ote oe oh oe 0 ways to kill the Christian musical approach, This recorded material in st and brutal death metal ios by Fredrik Norstrém, ual death metal tracks with @ guitar harmonies and skilled dueling rhythmic section. Ins are highlighted by slaying vocal ‘macabre and bizarre keyboard ele- a ctushing edge prd solos are here. 6G The band has. ) the second chapter of an adorned ‘onslaught, filled with diabolical musical passages and machiavel- jan litterature. For those who break the rules of morality, Evil Horde Records POSTHUMOUS "My Eyes, They Bleed" §7'24 / Evil necro black metal / hh sh is was created with the intents to make a violent, fast, Savage kind of musical art. "My Eyes, They Bleed” lat the band preaches, sounding like a mixture of raw _and uncompromising black metal. Allround brutality and tech- _nigue are also pretty much in the likes of thevaforementioned "genre. Songs are busy ahd:rather extreme with changeable pat- terns. Vocalizing is gaspy and grunted in order toaccomplish the desirable black-edged mood that is surrounded by a razor-edged sound. Together with bands like Murder Rape, Senge. D'Enfer or Posthumous, Brazil now presents a persuasive black metal scene. Hammer Mizik i CENOTAPH "Puked Genital Purulency" Turkey / 36'03 / Gore grind / +++ Cenotaph debut album "Voluptuously Minced" featured a reper- toire of brutal and sick gore death/grind. This new episode of sick- ness presents some compositions that sound even more grind, more brutal and sicker than ever. Intense’as fuck, crazy as hell, "Puked Genital Purulency" is a fast, technical and blasting relea- se only destined to the goriest addicts. Sepulchral Productions FROZEN SHADOWS "Dans Les Bras Des Immortels" Canada / 47'27 / Majestic black metal / + -& + + There is no inner or outer peace within the pact signed by the members of Frozen Shadows. The only salvation for them is in the practice of satanic art. The follow up to the “Empires De Glace" demo. shows a symphonic and nostalgic black metal anthology, that ‘crowned by dark and elegant atmospheres. Dedicated to their land, their ancestors, the poetic lyn i nite night, as if there Les Bras Des Imm where the call from | scattered by a lone empire gets bon ly and to the one of their Myrkhaal sound like an infi- be a day. The dazzling “Dans sionate and frenetic release, langes into a hymn to darkness. In the depths of darkness, a new EPTICISM “Aes” doom / hb ob oh ob arted melodies not heard in previous Finland / 27° "Aes" tea Skepticism recordings. "Stormorowieet’ and " trial terrain of horror filled fr celestial encounters. T! repackaged additional rare recordings. The ceremonial, ritualised nature of these recordings are nowhere better illustra- ted than on “Dreams Of Dark Waters"=Large sections of this album took place in real time, live in the studio Onrecorded to digi- tal audio tape during visits to local sites of power. This music acts as a key for the Opening of doors to the within and the without, speaks of that which is forbidden and forgotten. The form of the music mirrors the subject, slithering through the eracks in our psychic defences, impregnating us with alien thoughts and impulses contrary to the laws of man.For those whose dreams have the power to manifest in the minds of the few, summoning, guiding us to a new consciousness. Moribund Records WIND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS “Sing Thou Unholy Servants" USA / 40°01 / Atmospheric black metai/ + + + + Summoned out of wicked forest, Wind Of The Black Mountains is a one man band led by the evil spawn of Tchort, who was also the vocalist/guitarist for Black metal act Masochist. After the pro- mising "Forcefed Into Blasphemy” 7" EP, this debut album results in a long demonic fitual illustrated by a massive, dark, almos- pheric yet grim black metal holocaust. Supported by great fema- le vocals, violins amd acoustic guitars, "Sing Thou Unholy Servants" sounds like a milestone in US black metal. This long time underground band brings you back to the days of early 1992, when the black metal scene was still true and uncom- promising. With Judas Iscariot and Wind Of The Black Mountains, Northern America introduces you a black metal elite. Necropolis Records / Focusion WITCHERY "Dead, Hot And Ready" Sweden / 33'35 / Heavy black/death metal / + + dob Witchery's second full length album again captures the violent energy that this nightmarish quintet had created for "Restless & Dead". Band leader Patrick Jensen (ex-Seance, now in The Haunted) has again loaded with heavy fast riffs, masterful song- writing and the metal feeling of the 80's. "Dead, Hot And Ready" provides a thundering bottom end that rumbles ominously benea- th the razor-edged axework of the guitars while the virulent vocals equal the hellish drums, TARTAROS “The Red Jewel” Norway / 40°37 / Psychedelic black metal / +b -b + + For six fertile years, Charmand Grimloch, the bizarre master- mind behind Tartaros, has achieved a reputation as one of black metal's most talented and visionary leaders. Released in 1996, “The Grand Psychotic Castle" proved to be a musical labyrinth of eerie soundscapes that conjured images of terrifying beauty and chilling atmospheres. CHARMAND GRIMLOCHS a | “| SF &xXR | HE RED JEWE| sone {t was during this time that Emperor recognized the brilliance in Charmand's music and recruited him as their touring keyboardist. Charmand then entered his own studio for the recording of "The Red Jewel", which is a powerful continuation-of his creative brilliance. This album showcases even more of Grimioch’s pro- wess on the keyboards all the while layered with his trademark psychedelic horror that accents his work. pioneer in the field of atmospheric psychedelic black met taros has fearlessly avelled deep into previously _ Mortician eradicates existing “slabs of shocking, decapitating de metal. Morose passages. of _ Surfounded by a new line-up, tortur _has recorded a fifth album ab: is metal one step further ick, felenting dementia and homicidal drum programming combine fo blur the lines of metal's past with that of its future. An insane, hortible and gory release. TODAY IS THE Di USA /50'51 / Sculptural metal / bh bt ting it back to the listener's face This sick band abuses typical mi God" features mind-controlling § cussive manipulation, combined with maniac personal frustra- tion, forming the basis of the most Peel and ad complet ey ae Day album to that point. Dwell Records GATEWAY TO HELL "A Tribute To Slayer” Dark Funeral, Monstrosity, Aurora Borealis, Sadistie Intent, From The Depths, Infamy, Diabolic, Coffin Texts, Draconis, Evil incamate, Thy Darkest Empire, Imprecation, Somnus / 55°26 / heb This compilation is the grand prize winner in the “Tribute To Slayer” contest. Slayer's powerful blend of speed and thrash metal has been bursting eardrums since the release of their legendary “Show No Mercy" and their highly praised "Reign In Blood". The angels of death have given birth to heirs of misfortu- ne, who manage to capture the band's essence on this brutal homage. Special bonus is given to Dark Funeral and Sadistic Intent, whose killer cover versions highlight the infamous Slaytanic horde. Elegy Records / Obsidian Press JUDAS ISCARIOT “Of Great Eternity" USA / 40'31 / Nihilist black metal /+ + + yee There is not that many bands that practice what they preach, but this one does. Judas Iscariot sounds like @ mixage of true and misanthropic black metal and not only because it has the same tonations and feedbacks. Allround nihilism featured on "is also much in the likes of the aforementioned genres. Songs are Straight forward, desperately unholy and with changeable pat- terns. Vocalizing is screamy and harsh in order to aceomplish the desirable devilish mood that is surrounded:by a raw sound. A strong and persuasive effort intheiname of German philosopher Nietzsche. EVOKEN “Embrace The Emptiness" USA/70'36 / Ultimate doom/death / + ae Three years after the release of "Shades Of Night Descending’, Evoken is finally back with six new songs of soul-crushing doom. Tragic, yet beautiful and dramatic, “Embrace The Emptiness" envelops the senses and establishes the band as a serious force in the doom/death genre today. in order to come up to the emoti- ve and doomy atmosphere, one has stuffed the music with a good lot of slow paced melodies, death grunts and acoustics. Heartfelt and emotional, Evoken stand tall in the scene alongside the likes of Monumentum and Beyond Dawn INCANTATION “Tribute To The Goat" USA / 40'17 / Satanic death metal / ++ -b + Incantation have always been at the forefront of the American death metal scene and this new album again proves their worth. Brutal and uncompromising, "Tribute Te The Goat" is best descri- bed as classic death metal with a touch of grind and doom. They combine intense heavy parts with fast catchy riffs and interject unyielding brutality to form their unique sound. Recorded live in the studio with original vocalist Craig Pillard, the band spewed forth this dynamic testament to their art : pure, depraved, twisted and sick death metal. The End Records AGALLOCH "Pale Folklore” 62'10 / Dark metal / de ah The music and concept of Agalioch is a combination of cold, dark sorrow and natural oaken beauty. “Pale Folklore" features 8 dark metal tracks that sound very elaborate, diverse and with an epic edge. Surrounded by the majesty of nature and the burden of human existence, the band's debut album bursts with melodies with a basis of dark emotional concepts. Creating auras of sym phonic melancholiaythis release turns out be a tragic,«mourntul yet expressive listening experience. NOKTURNAL MORTUM "To The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire” Ukraine / Pagan black metal / + +b ++ Eastern Europe has increasingly been a mysterious place for extreme metal acts and, more and more, the quality of those bands is quite exeeptional. To The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire pagan nations by the supre- ss Siav knights of Nokturnal fo The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire’. sorcery, this album is a collection of nocturnal tions and spells worked through sounds : an expe- APOLLYON "Diaboli Gratia" Denmark / 19'17/ Black metal / + + + The demonic cult which was given the name Apollyon was sum- moned to the world in the autumn of 1992. After the release of two demos and an appearance on the "A Tribute To Hell" compi- lation CD, the Scandinavian trio finally unleashes their dark spi- its on the "Diaboli Gratia" mini CD. This fast and aggressive piece of violent black metal is adorned with dark and melodic elements that paint a frightening portrait of the strange beauty in evil, death, darkness and damnation : Wild Rags Records — OF THE FALLEN "Of The Fallen" USA / 28'13 / Black metal / + dere i Seen as the latest addition to the American black metal scene, Of The Fallen has composed a collection of songs dedicated to the burning infernal one. Stories of angels and demons at play on the battlefields of hell. This Texas band incorporates both aggressive and atmospheric melodies to their compositions, thus bringing a darken, quite promising debut mini CD. RITUAL “Soldiers Under Satan's Command" USA / 30'31 / Black metal / 4 oh Hailing from the city of Los Angeles, Ritual is back with their already third epic release. This time, they have used no key- boards, no ambient or atmospheric p. "Soldiers Under Satan's Command” could be described 4 demonic winter metal with an emphasi influences. Plans are already underway fourth album, as of yet untitled, whic! "Soldiers Under Satan's Command" of their metal roots. ABHORRENCE “Ascen Brazil / 10'16 / Death metal / + + + With ideal, attitude and a powerful ideology surrounded of hate and pure abhorrently against the false and the weak, the release on CD format of Abhorrence’s debut demo displays intense death metal, with speed metal riffs, extreme blast beats and blasphe- mous voeals, Since then, the band has signed a deal with a label of its native land in order to record its brutal debut full length alburn. ABOMINANT "The Way After" USA/ 46'357 Death metal / + + ++ "The Way/After® showcases multi-layered, multi-influenced death metal with a strong sense of classic eighties metal blendi a modern influence. The band's third opus mixes hea’ and black metal influences to produce a dark, brutal and melodic death metal repertoire. Having improved since “In Dark Embrace", Abominant has released an accessible piece of musi- ¢al brutality. SUBVERTOR "Transgreso-Evolucion’ Bolivia / 36'43 / Grind core /-+4 Subvertor's previous demo “ tunes with death metal influer focused on socially bs another expression heavy raw power with grind core: screams and an everlasting feeling Of chaos. : ved furious vocals and nigth album is ten songs of hed cavernous Pavement Music PROPHECY "Contagion" USA / 41'47 / Modern death metal / +++ With strong influences by bands such as Brutal Th Factory and Napalm Death, Prophecy could definite! fied as brutal death metal in their beginning. "Cor n To Conquer’ tion gives new king work e mative Demo reviews th deh ch he ob A Format : CD / tape Number of tracks Sound quality Musical style Comment th bb Good ++ Could be + Boring th cb bb & Excellent hb Average Sound quality Professional Good Average Rehearsal Poor masterpiece better taste for dark dean moods, combining mid-paced and accelerated parts with the inclusion of harmonious solos and it has received so far. ‘| 25.00 FF / $6.00 (ppd) - Belenos, Raoul Briquet, 62217 Beaurains, France. Loic Cellier, 31 Rue MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET "Profogi* CD/5 tracks / Good sound / Dark metal/toe- Having played with such bands as Gloomy Grim, Enochian Crescent or Barathrum, Mustan Kuun Lapset is a well-known name in the Finnish underground and in some central European _ countries. Technical and powerful, the songs featured on the "Prologi" mini CD don't have a vast pattern, but sound more like a series of timings and melodies with a significant use of well-consi- dered breaks and transitions. This collection of tracks is a leap for- ward for the band and Italian label Nocturnal Music recently relea- $e "Prologi" in a limited edition of 1000 copies. ‘| $8.00 (ppd) - Mustaan Kuun Lapset, C/O Lehtinen, Koroistentie 7 a 3, 00280 Helsinki, Finland. SIRIUS "... The Eclipse" Tape / 4 tracks / Good sound / Symphonic black metal / ahhh Here is a demo of a rare mastery, of an amazing penetration which takes you towards the mazes of a Northern inspired black metal repertoire and towards labyrinths of symphonic atmos- pheres. Sirius mixes inexorably passages filled with nostalgia for a distant time, to which is added the abyssal keyboards grandilo- quence, which covers compositions of legends and dreams. Close the passionate deluge catried by Limbonie Art, *./. The Eclipse will charm your soul with its subtle and perceptive 6pic emotions. Watch. out for their debut album to be released on Nocturnal Art _ Productions in early 2000. |< $6.00 (ppd) - Andromeda Creations, _ C/O Constance B., Box 366, 2775 Carcavelos, Portugal. THE OLD DEAD TREE "The Blossom" icks / Good sound / Atmospheric dark metal / + + + close to the early sounds of Paradisé Lost and My Dying Bride, The Old Dead Tree's compositions marks a willito combing dark metal and gothic music with guttural vocals and clear male chants, with the support of great musicianship. “The Blossom" is based on mid-paced tempos, with harmoniously del cate and depressive melodies and an overall dark melancholi¢ atmosphere, Between serenity and torment, this debut release gather the toftured aspect that lays in the band's musical expres- sion. ‘ |h “yiaais NISUIA te HS3I14 DILdIS aWwO 3HULON UNIMNOINOS HLO3YS-1¥U8 an ANTIONY ISdHOID IWHAINANAYD puree Weak BSS SW1ld NAUNWA ee ANGYUHINYNVS = sanun.90N- MOSS eM “ es O3INIO TONLNOD | IIIB Vey * Li# a, i z SOG FIGUN or AY¥013 NOSHIIHS NOBDIHVALYS -HILSOd 4 c OLf..N IHIDOAIOY DAA ANDOWLYI I> ae wt N NOISOMIMS IWLAWML. C13 1