Gehenna "First Spell" Head Not Found (1994)

1994 was a great year for black metal. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Hvis Lysett Tar Oss, Pure Holocaust and Svartalvheim are only a few of the genre's classics released that year, and for somewhat reason, First Spell is excluded from the list. Why?

This album release date in June 1994, has atmosphere, and a hell of it. The excessive keyboards that accompany the album are actually in place (at most of the album) and add to its creeping and chilling nature. The melancholic ice-cold riffs and powerful bass lines are performed with a high level of skill, and the vocals feature not only screaming, but hissing, whispering and even growling at times. From the very beginning of this album, the church organ wails to warn you of the upcoming terror- dark, melancholic, melodic, but still in-your-face-kvlt madness resembling a fusion between The Damned and Immortal. 

Track list is:

1.     The Shivering Voice of the Ghost 

2. Unearthly Loose Palace

3. Angelwings and Ravenclaws

4. The Conquering of Hirsir

5. Morningstar

The songs themselves are diverse. Some featuring an epic and upbeat feeling at times, with suddenly contrasting into a morbid and sombre atmosphere- imagine a Type O Negative album covered by Emperor. The enhanced bass and keyboards, with melancholic acoustic parts, which are a fairly uncommon thing among black metal albums of this time, are shown here in their full pride and glory- but are a little over emphasized and make the guitar sound buried deeply under the wall of sound this album makes. The lyrics are something between In the Nightside Eclipse and Burzum. Sometimes juvenile and pseudo-philosophical, and sometimes sophisticated and deep. This doesn't interrupt the album's atmosphere and feeling- and is only a minor part of it.

So that's it. You've already reached the end of your forest journey, with no blast beats and overlong intros, but with a great foggy atmosphere and corpse paint on your face. Recommended.

Line up is: 

Dolgar Vocals, Guitars, Songwriting (track 1), Lyrics (track 1)

Sanrabb Guitars, Vocals, Songwriting, Lyrics

Svartalv Bass, Vocals (backing)

Dirge Rep Drums

Sarcana Keyboards, Songwriting (track 1)

1994 and Gehenna cast their "First Spell" leaving breathless the underground scene with their unique majestic black metal evoking a beautiful darkness ans sorrow. Great Ep for norwegian band.