Emptyness

I'm posting this split album on behalf of the mysterious entity from Luxembourg known as Donkelheet. This split contains two songs, one from the German group Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and the other from Donkelheet, I shall only make reference to the latter. The song Emptyness, as it is spelled here, is a lugubrious and droning piece of depressive ambient black metal that is entirely nostalgic to my own memories. Everything is pushed back in the recording and the tape quality itself is poor in the sense that it crackles often, which in the end adds to the overall atmosphere present here. The element that originally attracted me to Donkelheeet was the assurance by just about everyone that you won't really find any other Donkelheet demos regardless of how many metal-archives has listed on their site, and they all look very appealing to say the least. The other thing I took notice in was that they had a bassist named Azrael Azrake who died in 1996, and a Mistrahas Morbidas who died in 2000... there's something about the death of a black metal musician that seemingly adds power and aura to their recordings.

Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult

1. Underneath the Stars of East

Donkelheet

2. Emptyness

Emptyness

Let There Be Darkness

Here is one of those albums I had been frantically searching now for years that I always assumed I would like but never managed to find it anywhere I looked. Now that I have finally discovered Let There Be Darkness by Omnia Orta Cadunt I knew there would be no way but to share this EP with the rest of the people here of like minded tastes. Omnia Orta Cadunt is a Russian black metal band driven by a single individual known as Carnifex, seen below, whom lyrically revolves around Satanism, evil, violence, and terrorism. After the brief intro, this album kicks things off immediately with the explosive track Golems of Satan, the riffs in this song really hit the nail on the head and the rest of the album follows adequately. There is some fucking cold and hateful black metal to be heard here on this EP, it's a shame it actually took me this long to find it, because I gaurantee I would have been listening to this ages ago if it were possible. Omnia Orta Cadunt means "Everything that came into existence, perishes."

1. Masturbating IHVH

2. Golems of Satan

3. Bloodlust

4. Creperum Noctis Aeternis

5. Hail Dictator!
6. Thy World Becomes Thy Grave

Let There Be Darkness

Pantherwelle

Considering I have already written about Todesstoss I will keep this fairly short, this is a 2006 demo known as Pantherwelle, and it just happens to be one of my favorite releases of his. As recently as 2010 the new full length titled Abwegnis 121 was released in which the first three songs of the album were mastered versions of this particular demo, a smart choice in my own personal aesthetic preference as Pantherwelle was always overlooked. All three songs on here are much different from one another if compared to eachother, yet each track is a pure success in it's own right and it's almost hard to pick a favorite in the end. I was originally drawn to the odd artwork here but in the end the music ended up serving much more than that in terms of quality and structure alone. Grab this demo, it's an overlooked experience that's stayed hidden for years and deserves recognition.

1. Pantherwelle

2. ...auf Abwegen (Rohfassung)
3. Die Ritzerin am Froschteich

Pantherwelle

The Wanderer

Sapthuran's "The Wanderer" from 2008 could have very easily been one of my first posts considering the impact it had left on me since the events of last summer. Sapthuran is a one man black metal act from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, handled by a man void of any pseudonym known as Patrick Hall. The style of black metal featured in any of the Sapthuran albums to date is not necessary a "standard" one, at least with the drum patterns being singled out, as he seems to be tapping the snare and ride simultaneously and instead creates "accent notes" to match the majestic riffs he creates, instead of blasting the listener into Hell. Thematically Sapthuran revolves around the notions of the forests, the night, the moon, and wolves in a primitive and no frills, or even fills, minimalistic styled black metal. An entirely naturalistic and pure approach to the lycanthropic spirit and nocturnal state of mind, an utter classic.

1. Summoning the Hated One

2. Write My Words Upon the Winds

3. Wailing Blackwinds

4. Fang of Night

5. An Earthen Madrigal and Curse to All Men

6. The Weave and Will of Fate and Time

7. Forever a Wandering Spirit

8. Call of Wolf

9. Fullmoon Rising

10. Sylvan Winter Madrigal

11. Astigan Se Beorg (Journey up the Mountain)

The Wanderer Part I

The Wanderer Part II

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