Belial Arisen

Seeming as July had nearly passed without a single post here on Nacht und Nebel I decided to return from my previous post being Black Funeral to post some... more, Black Funeral. This release of Michael Ford, aka Baron Drakkonian Abaddon, in retrospect with everything he has ever done under this project (including the newest 2010 release, Vukolak, which is an outstanding comeback album) this has to be my favorite. What makes this so is the way these songs were produced, the drum machine fades in and out like it would on tape, the guitars are fuzzy and melodic, and for once the vocals fit into the music just perfectly and are at his most demonic state. The music was supposedly recorded in 1996 and sat around until the vocals were completed in 2000, another extra note about this album, the artwork was originally created for the band Abigor but it ended up being refused by the label and banned in Europe, thus landing in the lap of Black Funeral instead. I've talked about Black Funeral enough, so just fucking get this, now.

1. Infernal Majesty

2. Book of Belial

3. Antichrist Rising

4. Varcolaci

5. Lycanthropy and Flames

6. Light of Satanael

7. The Crimson Dragon

Belial Arisen

Journeys Into Horizons Lost

Black Funeral is a legendary black metal band from the United States, formed in 1993, being one of the first black metal bands to emerge from the states. Journey Into Horizons Lost is their first demo from 1994, it has that true demo quality to it in the sense that it sounds before its time, Black Funeral developed throughout the years into a much different sounding black metal band than what was featured here in this early 90's demo. The first major thing separating the old Black Funeral from the new is the vocals, which sound more like Bael from France, that being more of a shrieking and sinistral moaning approach that adds a little bit more of an essence of anguish or despair. Black Funeral eventually becomes a purely occult black metal entity focused around black magick, rituals, and vampyrism, this demo sounds more like Michael Ford, author of Luciferian Witchcraft, simply being influenced at an early age from the black metal he was exposed to at that time. However, none of this is bad in my opinion, otherwise I wouldn't be posting his premiere, there's something exposed here that is genuine and very authentic. Being a visual person I'm including two alternate versions of the album art for the tape, original on top:

This is a considerably short demo, I would recommend listening to it all the way through for full effect, that meaning give the intro a chance as it is surprisingly enjoyable and atmospheric. The rest of the album is straight forward old school black metal in the spirit of the forests, the ancient forests, the vast starlit sky, and the Lord Sathanas. I suggest giving this a chance and then progressing upward through the Black Funeral ladder. This is a classic gem...

1. Intro: Within the Ballinor Mountains

2. Into the Stars of a Blazing Past

3. Journeys Into Horizons Lost

4. Land Beyond the Forest

5. Armageddon (Lord Sathanas Returns)

6. Voice of a Forgotten Ghoul

Journeys Into Horizons Lost

The Gates

Hate Forest is an Ukrainian black metal band formed in 1995. This is their fourth EP from 2001, the thing that separates this Hate Forest demo from all of the other Hate Forest releases is the overall ambient focus here in these two recordings. Some people may question my motives for even posting this demo when there are some legendary Hate Forest albums out there that I could have chosen, so I have to say that if I were to recommend an honest Hate Forest album for what they actually sound like then I would have gone with Sorrow. There are reasons for me to post this instead, though, that being the absolute atmospheric void this rarity is able to conjure up without vocals or any frills whatsoever. The album starts off with Where the Flame is Eternal which is entirely an ambient track that includes a rickety old gate being opened to wind, the crackling of fire, a muted synth layer holding down one bass note, and then fading into nothingness. The last track, and the meat and purpose of the album, is as precise as the title describes it, In Cold Empty Darkness. You have a repetitive riff that shortly after appearing falls into union with the programmed double bass of the drum machine, the song simply weaving in and out of this pattern accompanied by the occasional layer of an ethereal sounding keyboard. When this song is tired out it eventually fades into a monotonous single spaced out beat that resembles the beating of a heart and then it's over... I love this.

1. Where the Flame is Eternal
2. In Cold Empty Darkness

The Gates

Caput Draconis

Rahu is a black metal band from Finland based on Vedic astrology and Hindu mythology, this is their first demo Caput Draconis from 2007, released on tape and limited to 100 copies. The last track on this album, Into Nothingness Drawn, is an absolutely essential listen and undeniably catchy in a pleasantly repetitive fashion. Their demo that followed this one, Ride of the Eight Black Seeds, is equally as enjoyable as this demo I just happen to prefer this one simply for the final song. Their minimalist picture and Lovecraftian looking album art caught my eye, but I've continually came back to this demo for some time now, and for a reason. As a whole though, this demo is really fucking awesome, nothing revolutionary just really solid occult black metal.

1. Amrit

2. On Ketu's Tail

3. Asuric Tempest
4. Into Nothingness Drawn

Caput Draconis

Passage Beyond the Cold Vales of Desolation

Durthang is a raw depressive black metal band from Sweden formed in 2004, this is their first demo released that year titled Passage Beyond the Cold Vales of Desolation. The quality of this demo is very lo-fi and very raw as I bothered to mention, this won't be attractive to everyone, it will either be a hit or a miss depending on your sensibilities. On the right day and in the right mood this album can really take you places and allow you to drift into a bleak and morbid atmosphere. I had to have been listening to these guys right when they started out because it has literally been years now since I've known about this demo, but regardless it's worth introducing it...for the melancholic, apathetic, and isolated heart of solitude.

1. The Embrace of Shadows in Bleeding Harmony

2. A Journey in Chains of Grief

3. Of Landscapes Shaped in Solitude

4. Passage Beyond the Cold Vales of Desolation

Passage Beyond the Cold Vales of Desolation

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