Myrkwid's Kjempe

Earlier on I posted Part II by Mykrwid, being his second full length from 2006, this is the second demo from 1997, "Myrkwid's Kjempe". Myrkwid is a solitary black metal project handled by Malthokk from Germany, this particular demo doesn't stray from the path of true black metal by any means, and instead offers forth the cold minimalism of the riff and the intensely strained and harsh vocal work that possessess me in every waking instance. For as lo-fi this demo is, there manages to be a very deep and larger experiencing happening throughout these three fairly short songs. With a guest appearance by Aleister Crowley, this demo is the essential black metal experience for the initiated... "...Open the mysteries of your creation..."

1. Hymn Og Kjempe

2. Han Mester
3. The Eternal Questioner

Myrkwid's Kjempe

Mysterious Semblance

This is my second Striborg post thus far, and a deserving one at that. In particular, I am making an effort to post this with the artwork so that you can download the version that has the bonus track, "Lurking the Murky Damp Forest, a fifteen minute excursion into the name of the title itself and to a T. That song has accompanied me on a handful of memorable journeys through the heart of the wet and swampy woods. With Summer approaching and nice weather on the horizon, I know for certain I will eventually be listening to that track while strolling through some awe inspiring natural beauty. The style as a whole on this album is considerably repetitive and concentrated on the ethereal, no less, as this is a Striborg album after all. This Tasmanian black metal warrior maintains a very steady conceptual formula of ghosts, misanthropy, the forest, and night, as well as some depressive and stranger elements featured via synth usage. Overall Mysterious Semblance stands out as one of Striborg's finer works, as he produces so much and so frequently only a handful can be recognized as his best, this is one of those. The drawing was done by his wife Phaedra, click on the image to enlarge it, as it absolutely compliments the audio.

1. A Sour Pale Ghostly Dawn
2. Mysterious Semblance of Spectral Trees
3. Dark Storm Brooding, Lightning in the South
4. Looming Black Apparition
5. The Ghostly Pallid Hand of Fear
6. As Sad as a Cemetery in the Winter Darkness
7. The Screaming Winds
8. Lurking the Murky Damp Forest

Mysterious Semblance

Night Tale

I'm posting this on behalf of the excellent German band Azaxul, which happens to be a side project of the man responsible for the infamous Moonblood. This album is a split between Azaxul from Germany and S.V.E.S.T. from France, SVEST plays some top notch black metal as well but in terms of my intention, I'm writing about "Night Tale" because of how that song has seemingly increased its nostalgic quality as time progressed. Night Tale is very consistent and inspired black metal of an epic and has somewhat of a trance like quality to it, but in that respect both bands manage to pull this off on this particular split. The vocals for Azaxul convey the original spirit, I think, to the early days of black metal and do so in a very engaging and authentic way. There's not much else to say about this album except get it, it's a short album of just two songs but will be quite worth your time, as it has stood the test of time for me so it shall for others.

Azaxul

1. Night Tale

SVEST

2. Death to Macrocosm

Night Tale