Deathspell Omega - Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice (2004)

Deathspell Omega's third full-length album, Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice is a very controversial record. It not only marks the band's transition from one style to another, but is one of the key examples of Orthodox Black Metal. Hints of this sound could have been heard on the material that they recorded after Inquisitors of Satan; however, those songs were shelved until being released on the 2008 compilation, Manifestations 2002. Released through Norma Evangelium Diaboli, in February 2004, this album has gone on to be quite influential for modern bands that wish to follow a similar path.

When I first came across this album, it was definitely something new. It had been out for a couple years, but I only had the first two albums from this band. I ended up spending a lot of solitary nights in the autumn and winter of 2006 / 2007 listening to this, along with Sargeist, Horna and Clandestine Blaze. Being in a strange mood a lot of the time, this suited the odd atmosphere. I found that it was more successful as background noise, rather than necessitating my full attention. Though I am aware that several other bands have come along and utilized a similar style, I have not actually listened to any of them so this retains some level of uniqueness in my mind.

It all begins with "First Prayer", which is an instrumental intro that stretches beyond the five-minute mark. It is very slow-paced, possessing more of a Doom Metal vibe, and the Gregorian chant and backmasked guitars add an eerie feeling. Right away, it is clear that Deathspell Omega was looking to expand its sound.

"Sola Fide I" introduces the listener to the band's new vocalist, Mikko Aspa of Clandestine Blaze. His voice is not nearly as good as Shaxul's, but it almost suits the softer music. The production is fairly good, but sounds kind of muddy. The end result is a guitar tone that lacks any sort of edge or rawness, seeming as though it is muffled. The songwriting displays a less straightforward approach, with a lot of dissonant chords and strange riffs that are meant to create a sense of unease in the listener. The best part of the song is the tremolo melody that appears around the middle and, again, near the end of the song. It is quite epic and memorable, whereas the rest of the riffs are more average.

The opening riff of "Sola Fide II" is reminiscent of Mayhem's "Pagan Fears", in some minimal way. The more varied and unpredictable arrangement is a step in the right direction, as far as working to carve out an identity of their own. Still, the riffs are not nearly as powerful and haunting as on the previous album. The last few minutes actually sound like a totally different song, and it features awful effects on the vocals. So far, the impression of this album is that the tracks are working together to create a certain kind of atmosphere, but that none of them are really intended to be able to stand on their own.

"Second Prayer" is another instrumental, and this one possesses an eerie and morbid feeling from the start. The open chords are gradually joined by other elements, with the rumbling of the drums and whispered voices rising from the background. The feeling conveyed by this song is difficult to describe, as I have never heard anything else quite like it. Once the main riff comes along, the atmosphere is like that of a nightmare that has become reality. You are imbued with a horrible feeling, as if you are wearing the wrong skin or, perhaps, just claustrophobic inside your own body. Everything around you appears somehow different. It may be that the sounds here allow your eyes to see the world for the true horror that it is and this realization is almost too much for the feeble human mind to bear.

This is followed by "Blessed are the Dead Whiche Dye in the Lorde", which hearkens back to the band's earlier material, in a sense, starting out at full force with blasting drums and high speed tremolo riffs. As the song progresses, the drumming becomes more simplistic and Rock-based, while the riffs take on a less-threatening tone. Though this actually sounds like a coherent song and not just one piece of a greater whole, it does not maintain a solid Black Metal feeling, throughout.

"Hétoïmasia" starts out with mid-paced riffs that conjure up a morbid quality, before things speed up and reaches a higher level of intensity. The song loses focus until the slower riffs re-emerge, accompanied by a sombre lead solo. The faster riffs seem more in line with the type found on Infernal Battles and Inquisitors of Satan, simply not executed quite as well. That could be due to the horrible production or even the out-of-place vocals.

"Third Prayer" is, basically, another instrumental interlude. There are some voices in the background and more chanting utilized, but these are secondary to the guitar riffs, which re utterly miserable and dreary. This is the sort of thing that one would expect to hear in the final moments of life, passing away from this world knowing that your entire existence was a waste and that you failed in every conceivable manner.

The title track is a good example of the horrid mixing job, as the drumming totally drowns out the guitar riffs. Only during the mid-paced sections are the guitars allowed to breathe, though the vocals seem to never end. Though this song includes some slower parts that add an eerie feeling, it still fails in the sense that it is not solid enough to stand on its own, outside of the context of the full album.

"Odium Nostrum" is filler, more or less. Absolutely nothing about this song stands out, in a positive way. It is beyond bland and does nothing to add to the overall atmosphere of the L.P.

The next song is "Jubilate Deo (O Be Joyful in the Lord)", which starts out with fast tremolo riffs that do a better job of slicing through the muddy production, with a colder and more crisp guitar tone. Late in the track, the pace slows down and the morose aura that permeates so much of the record bleeds forth. Disappointingly, the song fades out just as it is getting more interesting, with a nice sorrowful melody draining the life of the listener.

"Carnal Malefactor" is the highlight of the album. Clocking in at over eleven minutes, this is the longest track, though the length is extended artificially. The main riffs are slow and mournful, maintaining a funereal vibe and tying everything together quite well. The anguished melodies call to mind times of misery and loss, things that are gone and shall never return and a time that will live on only in fading memories that are also soon to pass into total nothingness. The pace picks up a bit, as a woeful melody tears through your being, carrying an epic vibe. This is followed by several minutes of sombre chanting, which actually works quite well in adding to the lifeless feeling. It really lulls the listener into a trance, which is abruptly destroyed as the music comes raging out of the silence. With a furious speed, the drums and guitars annihilate your spirit in a merciless assault. Only the shift to a more relaxed pace allows you to survive, though the more intense riffs return a couple more times.

While the album really should have ended with that track, a couple more attempt to follow it. "Drink the Devil's Blood" is a re-recorded song that first appeared on the Infernal Battles album. This version sounds more natural, as far as the drums go, but the sterile guitar tone and wretched vocals are quite inferior to the original. In most cases, if a band wants to re-record an old song it is better if they are capable of improving upon the original, rather than just proving that the old material was superior.

The album concludes with "Malign Paradigm", which is a slow-paced instrumental outro that does well to wrap things up and leave the listener with a rather depressive impression of the album. One gets the notion that the band should have abandoned Black Metal for Funeral Doom, or something of that nature. Though, in a way, they went on to abandon their roots anyway.

Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice is definitely meant to be listened to as a whole album, since few of these songs work well on their own. For what it is, this is not a bad record, though it would be the final Deathspell Omega full-length worth listening to. Overall, the music and atmosphere does not compare to Inquisitors of Satan and the whole religious obsession that dominates the lyrics is actually a turn-off. While this is not the great classic that many seem to think it is, it is worth a listen. Just do not expect the same level of quality as found on the previous records.

Armagedda - Ond Spiritism: Djæfvulens Skalder (2004)

Ond Spiritism: Djæfvulens Skalder is the third, and final, full-length album from Armagedda, released in 2004 on Agonia Records. Though their work was still showing overt influences from others, the band seemed to find their path with the previous album, Only True Believers. However, their third album is a little less consistent and gives off the impression that they had just discovered Bethlehem, as well as getting better acquainted with the old Burzum albums. Getting bored with playing Black Metal and seeking to move on to something else, A. and Graav decided to lay the band to rest after this recording, which proved to be somewhat lackluster.

"Helvetestoner" begins with a clean guitar passage that lasts far too long and does not fit in well with the rest. Once the track really gets going, things seem a little more interesting. The morbid riffs are accompanied by the chiming of a funeral bell. This seems to pick up from where "Endless Fields of Sorrow" left off, opting for a slower approach and a more dismal atmosphere. The production is quite similar, though a little more cleaned-up, perhaps. Graav's vocals have continued to develop, utilizing a sound that moves between a raspy growl and the strained voice of a human in pain. The riffs are not the best, but do a decent job of conveying the desired feeling. There is a mournful melody that arrives late in the song, adding a bit of depth to the track.

The next song starts out in a manner similar to the first, which is a bit annoying. Whatever they were trying to accomplish should have been re-worked. "Döpt I oheligt vatten" takes a minute or so to really get underway, though the listener's patience may run thin by that point. There is an eerie, otherworldly vibe present here, due to the clean guitar parts that accompany the main riffs. It sounds out of place and, though one can tell that they had something interesting in mind, the execution of the idea was not successful. This track seems more reminiscent of the band's first effort, The Final War Approaching, as it is boring and comes off as haphazard and uninspired.

"Afsked" skips the nonsense and gets right to the point. Unfortunately, the riffs are mediocre and the song falls flat. Some blast beats are utilized near the end, but even this part is ruined by the ridiculous clean voice. It would not have matter much, anyway, as the riffs are generic and pointless.

"Ændalykt" is the longest song here, clocking in at nine and a half minutes. The pace is a bit faster and the riffs actually possess a gloomy feeling. The pace increases as the track progresses, and the riffs maintain the same dismal and morose atmosphere, with everything falling into place, finally. Some of the melodies remind of Darkthrone, but not in such an obvious way. The drumming helps differentiate it, also, and the fact that the double bass is buried deep in the mix prevents the song from sounding terribly modern. Later in the track, the guitar melody is left alone, more or less, and this adds to the sombre vibe. While this song can seem a little repetitious, at times, this works to the its benefit and enables the riffs to really work into the subconscious of the listener. Things slow down, near the end, and the guitar riffs rip into your chest. A feeling of lifelessness creeps over you, threatening to strangle the last bits of hope that you possess.

The track that follows, "Döden styr livet", is another boring piece that further exemplifies the great departure from the previous album, in terms of style and quality. As the record continues, it becomes more and more clear why the members decided to put an end to the band.

"Gravgaardspsalm" is an instrumental that would have worked better had the last song been cut from the album. It features some eerie guitar work and the sound of falling rain, but not much else.

"Afgrundsvisioner" is one of the best songs on this album; i.e. one of only two or three that are worth listening to. It starts out with fast tremolo riffs, blasting drums and grim vocals that all hearken back to the early days of Darkthrone, before the pace slows a bit and the Burzum influence takes over. This song actually features a good amount of variation in tempo and the different riffs all flow together nicely. The atmosphere is morbid and gloomy, though not sorrowful as some of the other tracks attempt.

As for the outro, it serves no purpose and is merely there to fill space. It is annoying that so many bands feel the need to include intro and outro tracks that do absolutely nothing, as if they are simply fulfilling some obligation.

Ond Spiritism: Djæfvulens Skalder is a weak album and should be neglected in favour of Only True Believers. This would have been better if it had this been reduced to only three tracks and released as an E.P. Do not be fooled into thinking this is anything more than a mediocre attempt at seeming different and progressive, when it really just points to the creative bankruptcy of the band members and the fact that they both preferred to be playing folk rock.

Metallica - s/t (1991)

Metallica's self-titled fifth full-length, known as "The Black Album", is one of the most popular Metal albums, ever. It took a band that was already on the rise and catapulted them to the heights of fame and fortune, the likes of which they had never even dared to dream. They achieved mainstream success, but at a heavy cost. While many look to atrocities such as Load and Reload, Metallica represents the point in time where the band sold their souls and traded artistic integrity for the almighty dollar. Of this, there is no room for doubt. They even went so far as to make a documentary that captured the entire process, which dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Bob Rock was brought in to mix the album, yet ended up producing it as well. Yes, the band that had once talked trash about lame poser bands such as Motley Crue now wanted the same sound. In that sense, this album can be considered a success. Rather than trying to keep their hardcore fans happy, Metallica opted to go for the bombastic Stadium Rock approach, leaving their Thrash Metal roots far behind.

This was one of the first albums that I purchased right as it was released. I even went so far as to collect all of the cassette singles as well. Since catching their 1989 Grammy performance on television, Metallica had become my favourite band. I had gone back and collected what I could and was impatiently waiting their latest release, in late 1991. At the time, I was thrilled with what I heard. Just turning eleven years old a short time later, I was not yet thinking of it in terms of how much better their earlier output had been and that they had sold out in a very successful bid to break into the mainstream. I had this cassette on me at all times, wearing my Sony Walkman out, and running through these songs until I knew them by heart. It took a few years for me to begin getting tired of this record and to really start thinking about how much more I enjoyed the older stuff, like Ride the Lightning. However, I can never erase the past and pretend that this album was not important for my musical development, as it came along at a critical time when I still might have gone either way, as I still listened to equal amounts of Metal and Rock, at the time.

Instead of opening with an intense track, as the previous albums had done, it starts out with a mid-paced anthem that demonstrated that the band's Thrash Metal days were done. "Enter Sandman" is about as iconic of a tune as one can possibly think of. From the acoustic beginning and the slow build to the pounding drums and the catchy rhythm, this was quite a good way to start the album and to let people know just what to expect. It was also one of the first songs to really grow thin and become boring, later on. I would probably despise this song by now, but The Sandman used it as his theme music in ECW, so it carries even more nostalgia as a result.

"Sad But True" is another mid-paced track that relies on the thick and powerful production to make its mark. The atmosphere is a little darker, particularly during the middle, but the guitar solo ruins it. There is too much of a bluesy feel to the solo, which is more of a Rock thing to do. Overall, this track is quite repetitive and does not accomplish a whole lot.

The next track offers a brief glimpse into the past, starting out with a somewhat thrashy vibe before regressing to the same simplistic formula as the previous songs. Some listeners may be imbued with a sense of disappointment, since the opening moments give the impression that this would be a faster and more intense offering. The pace picks up a little, but not very much. It is one of the more enjoyable songs on here, but could have been better.

"The Unforgiven" is a weak ballad that only serves to further pussify Metallica and drags this album down even more. While "Fade to Black" came off as natural and sincere, this just seems as if they were trying too hard.

The next song is not too bad. "Wherever I May Roam" was one of my favourites when this first came out. After an odd intro, the song steamrolls forward with powerful and catchy riffs that do not sound too contrived. It clings to the verse-chorus-verse formula far too much, but that was to be expected by this point. This is a solid Heavy Metal tune that is memorable and epic, to a degree.

"Don't Tread On Me" is a mid-paced song that possesses a strange feeling, partially due to the lame patriotic lyrics and the weird guitar melodies. Coming at the end of Side A, many listeners had to be wondering what the hell had happened to their favourite band, back then. As one reaches the halfway point, there have only been two decent songs and even those are inferior to anything that the band had done, previously.

Side B starts out with "Through the Never". This song sees the return of some Thrash Metal riffs, though used quite sparingly. It would seem that some of the band members still had a little fire in them, but Ulrich's laziness was hellbent on dumbing everything down. Despite his efforts, this is the fastest song on the album and one of the most memorable ones. Again, it probably could have been much better, but the band's goal had shifted from making quality music to simply making money.

"Nothing Else Matters" is yet another worthless ballad. Indeed, they decided to include two on this release, as if the overall presentation was not enough of a kick in the groin for their loyal fans. This is about as weak and lame as it gets and Metallica should be ashamed of themselves for ever recording such garbage.

They try to pick the pace back up with "Of Wolf and Man", which is actually much better than several of the other songs on here, leaving one to wonder why it is buried on Side B. The riffs would not have been terribly out of place on ...And Justice For All, and Lars even seems to wake up for a few moments, late in the track.

"The God That Failed" is not too awful, for a monotonous mid-paced song. It is certainly catchy, while retaining a little shred of a dark tone. It follows a similar pattern to several of the earlier tracks, but does so in a more effective fashion and does not cause the same type of irritation that some of those do, upon repeated listens.

The next song is "My Friend of Misery", which starts out with a dark vibe, mostly thanks to the bass line. This one would have worked better as an instrumental, as the vocals just ruin any atmosphere that this track could have had. The riffs during the chorus are completely horrible and kill nearly all of the song's momentum. The middle section is pretty decent, actually managing to give rise to a dismal feeling. It is unfortunate that this one had to include the awful vocals and boring riffs that accompany the chorus.

"The Struggle Within" is a rather strong track to close out on. Beginning with a war march, the song soon picks the pace up again and injects some much-needed energy into this boring affair. The vocals are kind of annoying and the drumming is lay as hell, but this still shines when compared to the other songs on this album. The solo would have been better, minus the bluesy feel, but it is not too damaging.

"The Black Album" was the weakest Metallica release, up until that point. It is obvious that the were really burned out after the much more complex ...And Justice For All, and this represented a creative regression, coupled with the intense greed that was building within certain members. With half of the songs being filler or just far too transparent for any serious Metalhead to take seriously and the other half still needing a lot of improvement, this record fails as a worthy follow-up to the albums that preceded it. On the other hand, James and Lars had clearly gotten rid of the Thrash Metal label that they were never comfortable with anyway, and this album solidified them as Heavy Metal / Hard Rock icons. While it is not completely bereft of enjoyable moments and seems like a disappointment in the eyes of many, it would appear the the dollar signs indicate otherwise. For anyone that may be new to the band, I recommend skipping this and all later atrocities and picking up Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning, instead.

Nachtmystium - Demise (2004)

Nachtmystium began as yet another generic band that owed its existence to the likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and Mütiilation. The music was fairly bland, with a few decent ideas tossed in, though hardly original. Blake Judd, the driving force behind this project, was just another fanboy that wanted to try his hand at recreating the past, in his own mediocre way. He also likes to re-write history, in that the Reign of the Malicious demo was later claimed to be the band's first official album, though when I first spoke to the guy he mentioned it as a demo and actually said the same about Demise, which was released through Autopsy Kitchen Records in early 2004. For the sake of argument, I will consider this Nachtmystium's debut L.P. For what it is, this is not a bad record. It was later released with different artwork, but the Burzum rip-off job that is featured on the original suits the music far better.

The album begins with a pointless intro that does absolutely nothing to add to the atmosphere of the album. Thankfully, one can skip past it to the first real track, "Solitary Voyage". This one is a mid-paced song that possesses a mournful and tormented feeling. The main theme features a miserable tremolo melody with open chords being played underneath. It is quite primitive and one gets the impression that the musicians do not have the strongest grasp of how to wield their instruments, but the effort is there. The raw and fuzzy guitar riffs dominate the sound, with the vocals being buried in the mix a bit and the drums at a somewhat decent level. The production is reminiscent of Filosofem, from Burzum, just not quite as good. As the song progresses, it takes on an epic vibe and gives the listener some optimism for the rest of the L.P. Sadly, this is about as good as it gets.

"Scorpio Incarnate" is a faster-paced track that is built around blast beats and fast tremolo riffs. Obviously, this displays some influences from Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger album. By the middle of the song, things slow down and the aura transforms into something more evocative of Burzum. Much like Judas Iscariot, Nachtmystium owes a lot to those two bands, though the drug addict, Blake, manages to do a better job of imitating them.

The next song, "Ashes to Ashes", is a little monotonous and only really comes to life as a sorrowful melody is introduced late in the song, playing over the main theme. This maintains the same melancholic atmosphere as before, though it falls rather flat and does not do much. It just crawls along, accomplishing little.

"The Glorious Moment" is a boring track that seems like a mixture of random ideas that were borrowed from other bands and then tossed together to kill about five minutes. The final couple minutes show more life, but the generic nature of the riffs cannot be ignored. The vocals might have added to the overall effect, but they are too low in the mix to have much influence.

The last real song on here is "Rise and Fall", which creeps at a slow pace. There are some effects, such as demonic voices in the background that do little to help the track. This comes off as nothing more than the obligatory 'lengthy song' just to fill space, as there is nothing going on in these ten minutes that could not have been accomplished in four or five. An interesting melody arrives near the very end, which actually possesses more feeling than the rest of the riffs, combined.

The outro is nothing more than eight and a half minutes of senseless noise that has nothing to do with the vibe of the album and is likely only there to pad the running time. Without the intro and outro, this release is barely more than half an hour.

Demise is not a bad record, for those that are interested in hearing modern Black Metal that is purely derivative of earlier bands, with almost no unique input whatsoever. It starts out a lot stronger than it ends, so you may find yourself only listening to the first two tracks before getting bored and moving on to something else. Chances are, if the guy had not given me a copy for free (to play on my radio show), I would not have bothered adding this to my collection and I would not recommend anyone else to do so, either. The American Black Metal scene has always been pretty lame and average at best, and Nachtmystium is no different.

Warloghe - Unlighted (1997)

Warloghe is a lesser-known Finnish Black Metal band, existing since 1995. Their first E.P., Unlighted, was released in 1997 on Demonion Productions. Listening to this, one almost gets the sense that this band is like a distant relative of the French Black Legions, as they create the same type of atmosphere.

The first song is "Waaslandia", which displays some influence from Vlad Tepes, from the opening moments. The main riff is mid-paced, interspersed with tremolo melodies. After a couple of minutes, things speed up to where one would expect and the sound is slightly reminiscent of Black Funeral's second album, Empire of Blood. This is especially true of the vocals. The playing is a little sloppy, at times, but not to the extent that it distracts from what is going on. The music does well to create imagery of ruined castles, desolate forests and vampiric evil reaching from beyond the grave.

"Foretold Vast Sorceries Unfold" gets off to a shaky start, as the drumming is a little awkward and the song appears to be moving at an inconsistent speed. Once the pace picks up, things smooth out. Though this recording possesses a very raw and underproduced sound, it never breaks down into pure noise. It is very easy to follow the melodies and to hear what is going on. During this song, the vocals hearken back to the early Mütiilation demos, to a degree. There is a sense of desperation in Glaurung's voice that aids the gloomy atmosphere of the song.

Quite short and not terribly original, Unlighted is still worth tracking down for fans of the aforementioned French Black Metal bands. Warloghe really sounds nothing like most of their Finnish peers, though many of them came later anyway. This is far more in line with the LLN bands and even stuff like Moonblood rather than looking to Norway for inspiration.

Abyssic Hate - Eternal Damnation (1998)

Following a series of demos, Abyssic Hate released the Eternal Damnation E.P. in 1998, through Darker Than Black. Consisting of only four original songs, this recording is not all that original or captivating, but it is fairly decent Black Metal in the vein of early Darkthrone, particularly Transilvanian Hunger.

After a completely useless intro, "Knight of the Living Dead" rips forth with cold and mournful tremolo melodies that are actually quite memorable, even haunting at times. The drumming sounds like it is probably programmed, which would make sense since this is a one-man project. Either way, it is not bad and does a decent job of keeping time and little else. The riffs flow well, from one to the next, and the progression is logical as each one builds on its predecessor. The vocals sound similar to Varg's approach on Filosofem, though more distant and a bit weaker. This is one of the main flaws of the recording, as the vocals do not do enough to add to the overall atmosphere of the songs. By the middle of the track, the pace slows down and more epic melodies unfold, creating depth and demonstrating that, while the playing may be very influenced by Darkthrone, the actual songwriting is much less minimalist.

"Human Despair" follows the same formula, more or less. This is pure worship of the early 90s Norwegian Black Metal scene, and there is absolutely no denying it. That said, at least Abyssic Hate does an adequate job of it, unlike so many others. As with the previous track, the guitar riffs flow naturally, though some of the riffs are less than impressive. The mid-paced part is less useful and the riffs become boring. The lyrics are a joke, as well, sounding about as emo and pathetic as possible, even making references that almost seem to show some sort of acceptance of Judeo-Christian mythology. Hopefully, this was merely for poetic effect.

This is contradicted on the following track, "Attack!", which at least makes use of some common Black Metal themes of violence and anti-Christian sentiment. Musically, it is superior to the last song, just for the fact that it is more straightforward and keeps the blasting pace, without the ridiculous double-bass parts. It features some memorable tremolo melodies and is one of the better songs on here.

"The Blood War" maintains the same style, though it has become repetitive and boring at this stage. The problem with this sort of approach is that the band must have very interesting riffs, or else it falls flat after a while. It features a slower part that does not do much to add to the song, and the whole endeavour sounds as if it has been heard before.

The final song is an Absurd cover, "Victory is Ours". There is little to say about this, as it does not fit in too well with the rest of the material, but at least it has a slightly different feel to it. It is very short and neither adds to nor detracts from the overall quality of the release.

Eternal Damnation is a decent E.P. but not essential in the slightest bit. These songs were later released on a compilation album titled A Decade of Hate, so they should be rather easy to find. While this comes off as a little generic and uneventful, "Knight of the Living Dead" and "Attack!" are worth hearing and are probably the best songs Abyssic Hate has ever recorded. That said, they are far too derivative and bear little original thought; therefore, one cannot be surprised that this band has not recorded a single note in over a decade.

Moonblood - s/t (1994)

Rising from the ashes of Demoniac, Occulta Mors and Gamaalzagoth began an extremely productive collaboration under the name of Moonblood, releasing their self-titled debut demo in August 1994. This tape contains an hour of music, and shows a band with unlimited potential. In most cases, bands end up recording albums far too soon, not spending enough time in the demo phase where they would be able to master their craft; however, Moonblood is a band that definitely should have been afforded the opportunity to record their music in a proper studio and to release their work in the form of actual albums, instead of poorly-produced cassettes. These two certainly had a very good idea of what they wanted to achieve and were quite successful in doing so. Moonblood was the only the beginning...

Following a sombre intro, "Hope" soon erupts into a maelstrom of raging flames. That is the feeling conveyed by the hellish guitar melodies, aided by the necro production. This was, obviously, not what they intended and yet it works so well. The main riffs carry a dismal tone, and are some of the most simplistic of the band's existence. It seems more like a jam session, since the drumming is so difficult to hear, and even the vocals are buried under a few feet of dirt.

"In the Forest of Red Water" continues the gloomy feeling, with a slow build. This is the lengthiest song on here, and actually does well to evoke some sort of epic feeling. Already, the Viking-era Bathory influence can be felt; an inspiration that would remain throughout the band's career, and come to full fruition in its successor band, Nachtfalke. After a few minutes, the pace picks up and races forth at a blinding speed. There is a sense of sorrow that can be felt, mourning the loss of something significant. As the track experiences its final death throes, one gets the image of a valiant warrior being stricken down on the battlefield, one shot after another failing to break his will, until his body finally succumbs and he falls to the ground and fades from this world in a pool of his own blood.

The next song, "Graves From the Stone Under Cemeterymoon", slowly emerges from the darkness, like a sorrowful death march. The riffs bear an epic quality, before giving way to a lone tremolo riff that is soon joined by blasting drums and demonic vocals. As the song progresses, some of the fast tremolo melodies hearken back to the introductory riffs, and maintain a similar feeling. Things can get a bit blurry, if you are not paying attention, due to the poor sound quality. The track ends with everything slowing down to a crawl, finally letting out one last tortuous wail.

"Moonblood" is somewhat more upbeat, for the first half of the song. By the middle, it goes into a slower section that echoes Chopin's funeral march and thus creating a gloomy atmosphere of lifelessness and despair. The subsequent riffs contradict this aura, displaying the indomitable spirit of a true warrior, defying even death itself.

This is followed by "In A Bloody Night of Fullmoon", which is far more primitive than the version on Blut und Krieg, which actually works well. There is a nice effect from the method by which the melody is played, and this is more haunting than the synth that carries this melody in the later version. There are places where the song does not sound as connected, but that is to be expected at this stage. For the most part, it sounds very similar to the L.P. version. though it does not flow as well. Either way, it is interesting to hear.

"Eternal Satanic Winter" features another brilliant mixture of grim Second Wave Black Metal sounds mixed in with Viking-era Bathory influences. The result is epic and yet raw as hell, at the same time. The transition from the mid-paced battle riffs to the tremolo melody is very well done. A chaotic guitar solo is also thrown in, for good measure. The faster riffs are among the most memorable on the demo, making it seem strange that this song did not appear on either of the band's full-length efforts. The rough production kills some of the effect, later on, but one can easily feel the potential that this track had.

The guitar tone on "Songs of Fullmoon" sounds a little sharper, at times. Overall, this track is another good mixture of Viking Metal and raw Black Metal in the northern style. The transitions are seamless, rather than being awkward like many other bands would do at this point in their career. Listening to this, one cannot help but think about the sheer number of quality Moonblood tracks that were never revisited. It is a shame, as the band could easily come together to re-record old material and never have to write anything new.

"Sign of Evil" is a fairly straightforward song, mostly sticking to the formula Darkthrone utilized on Transilvanian Hunger, though with brief interruptions. The riffs are not as thought-out as on the previous tracks, though the pitiful production could be concealing their true quality.

The final song is "Demoniacs", starting out with ominous riffs that help to create a dark and evil feeling. While interspersed with some cold tremolo melodies, the doom riffs dominate this track and give rise to imagery of barbarian hordes crushing the weak and trampling their skulls into the dirt, terrorizing and destroying all in their path.

"In the Forest" is a keyboard outro, probably inspired by Burzum, though not quite to the same level. Still, it is a nice touch and adds a little more character to the demo.

Moonblood is an excellent beginning for a band that would go on to be considered the true elite of German Black Metal. None of their peers ever came close to what they achieved. As for this demo tape, the only thing holding it back is the horrible production. Some necro recordings are enjoyable, but this is actually so bad that it makes it difficult to hear what is going on and causes some of the songs to have a weaker effect than they would have, otherwise. Despite this, once you can train your ears to really focus on what is going on, there is a lot to appreciate. This comes highly recommended and should be a rewarding experience for those willing to give the time and effort to truly immerse themselves in it.