Samael "Blood Ritual" (Century Media 1992)

Lado A
1. Epilogue 00:39  
2. Beyond the Nothingness 04:31  
3. Poison Infiltration 03:57
4. After the Sepulture 04:35  
5. Macabre Operetta 06:41  
6. Blood Ritual 03:24  
7. Since the Creation... 00:34
8. With the Gleam of the Torches 06:25
9. Total Consecration 02:40  
10. Bestial Devotion 04:49  
11. ...Until the Chaos 03:25

I'm not sure when brutality became synonymous with complexity in metal, but it is a mentality with which I never really agreed. When you say "brutal" people think of technicality, or of speed and precision. People think of Cryptopsy, or Gorguts, or of Cephalotripsy and the slamming ilk. But, I'm not sure I've ever really felt "brutality" from those that sound like that - efficiency, fear, monstrous, awesome, maybe - but not entirely brutality. These bands are like sniper rifles and assault rifles - maintained, cold in their precision, and take time to master and use properly. So, while they may be the deadliest tools, the word brutality doesn't immediately come to mind. When I think of brutality, I think of barbarous tools. Those that are always deceptively effective - simple in presentation and purpose, but efficient for killing: spikes, clubs, axes, saw teeth. Simple shapes meant to be used by anyone who can wield them and with the intent to inflict some damage. This is exactly the type of music Samael made in their early days. 

With few synths, a small intro, and an incredible focus on guitars, it's a straight forward, gloomy, and meandering album. It's filled with "go nowhere" riffs, a shallow, hollow production, and very few tempo changes besides going from slow to slower to slightly less slow. Most of the songs riffs sound eerily similar, with more of a focus on atmosphere than actual song-writing - and the doom elements more or less consist of classic heavy metal riffs and drum fills, with little variation between one song or another. But once you can get past the monotony, the simplistic accents make themselves noticed and add a ton to the album, and actually force the listener to focus less of the parts and more on the whole. 

"With the Gleam of the Torches" is a galloping, almost fun ride through the caverns, with twisting and turning riffs, drums alternating between standard blasts and rocking beats to hi-hat and cymbal accents - the whole thing is reminiscent of being taken away by some ancient crypt-keeper, explaining ancient secrets as his blue flame fills the catacombs with an otherworldy hue. The title track is crushing, starting with a classic guitar rip worthy of early Hellhammer (which, unsurprisingly is obviously the most influential band on Samael at the time) followed by a fury of blasting and power chords and accompanied howls. It moves effortlessly between the two tempos, creating a tense effect of ritual and sacrifice. The most famous after "After the Sepulcture" is brutality incarnate - a crushing, draining riff that moves like some titanic subterranean behemoth - with a serpentine riff and lead guitar that effortlessly shifts from one melody to another, never losing its poisonous effect, before exploding back into the main riff. 

Most of the songs alternate between these formulas, slow and crushing, slight blasting variation and a really deep focus on keeping the listener guessing on what strange twists might be thrown at them later. "Bestial Devotion" has oddly placed major chords among the atonal sounds of the main riff, and a really odd amount of technicality for the album. The closer "...until The Chaos" is a downward spiral of a song with riffs that resemble early Candlemass, but with less melodic leads, and an utterly awesome bass-line that picks up just the right amount of time into the song. If you don't head bang during the last half of the song, you're not listening properly. 

I can definitely see the complaints with this album - it is really slow, a lot of the songs sound almost identical upon first listen, the tone is really kinda of hollow and may be too mono for some and the drums are incredibly active considering how simplistic everything else is. Seriously, Xy has a fill every few seconds on some songs it seems - and this can break up a perfectly good headbanging moment. But, I do think that the rather informal and aggressive drumming makes this album more unique and ritualistic than others playing this style of black metal at the time. The focus on the rhythm and drums definitely makes is feel more sinister somehow, maybe it's the link between primal instinct and drumming, or maybe it's just a predecessor for his leadership later in the group. Either way, Blood Ritual should be a mandatory listen. In all its simple, direct brutality, it never manages to cease being an engrossing and deceptively demanding.

Links for this album. 

Therion "Beyond Sanctorum" (Active Records 1992)

Therion's relatively unknown beginnings as a "standard" death metal band seem to be misunderstood by many metal listeners. Although the general consensus seems to be that Beyond Sanctorum is just "straight up death metal" while their later releases are neoclassical style, upon closer inspection, the opposite seems to be true. This album release date January in 1992 through label Active Records, reissue for Century Black, Nuclear Blast records. 

Line up for this records: 

Christofer Johnsson Guitars, Vocals, Bass

Peter Hansson Guitars, Keyboards, Bass

Oskar Forss Drums 

Although Beyond Sanctorum uses mainly instruments and performance aspects of standard death metal(aside from a few synth background parts), the songs are composed in a style more similar to actual classical music, with nonlinear song structures, leitmotifs and consistent musical themes that develop over the course of the song. Their later "neoclassical" works sound closer to the standard verse/chorus arrangement of basic rock music with the addition of violins and choirs.

Track list is: 

Side A

1. Future Consciousness 05:00  

2. Pandemonic Outbreak 04:22   

3. Cthulhu 06:12   

4. Symphony of the Dead 06:49   

Side B

5. Beyond Sanctorum 02:36   

6. Enter the Depths of Eternal Darkness 04:47   

7. Illusions of Life 03:20   

8. The Way 11:06   

9. Paths 02:03

"Future Consciousness" starts the album off with a churning Morbid Angel style intro alternating with dark tremolo melodies and some heavy groove. The song maintains an unconventional structure throughout its length, smoothly transitioning from one riff to the next and building to a satisfying conclusion. There are no clumsy or awkward segues, but many different parts arranged in a gradual flow.

Other bright spots include "Cthulhu", featuring deep, cavernous doom sections evoking the famous sunken city, alternating with frantic fast passages. "Enter The Depths of Eternal Darkness" goes from a sludgy opening section to fiery death metal, with some eerie lead guitar moments and is also quite satisfying.

The highlight of this album is definitely "The Way". This is where the bands developing symphonic style is most obvious, so "Theli" fans should definitely hear this song first. Over the first few minutes, it gradually builds and builds into a triumphant, thundering climax starting around the six minute mark, with some epic lead guitar/synth work. Just when it seems the song has spent its fury and starts fading out into clean guitar arpeggios, it comes suddenly back with another triumphant "encore" climax guitar solo. While not instrumental, much of the song is unaccompanied by lyrics, allowing the music its own clear voice to carry the development of the song. I cannot recommend it enough - "The Way" is not only the best song on the album, but one of the best examples of adventurous, progressive (yet uncompromising) death metal one is ever likely to hear. 

This album released around the time when death metal was abandoning its primitive roots and going off into more complex territory, and it stands shoulder to shoulder with works like Blessed Are The Sick, The Red In The Sky Is Ours and Unquestionable Presence. If you're a fan of later Therion, don't write this album off - it's not as primitive as you've been led to believe. For anyone willing to take the time to really listen to music beneath surface level aesthetics, this is actually a surprisingly complex and rewarding listen. This album is light years ahead of their debut, and I actually much prefer it to their later works.

Darkthrone "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" Peaceville (1992)

One of the seminal releases of the infamous second wave of black metal, "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" serves as a stepping stone for Darkthrone to their own particular niche in black metal as well as a guide for the less inspired as to how to create phenomenal black metal. This second album is a funny because Darkthrone obviously wears their influences on their sleeves and the album obviously owes much to CF/Hellhammer, yet at the same time this disc contains its own unique voice and there simply has never been an album like it.

Track list form this album: 

Sice A:

"Kathaarian Life Code" – 10:39

"In the Shadow of the Horns" – 7:02

"Paragon Belial" – 5:25

Side B:

"Where Cold Winds Blow" – 7:26

"A Blaze in the Northern Sky" – 4:58

"The Pagan Winter" – 6:35

Setting themselves apart from their contemporaries, Darkthrone strived to achieve a catchy and 'metal' album. Not forgetting the importance of riffs from the forebears of black metal, and the thrashy/groove elements championed by Morbid Tales Celtic Frost, Darkthrone implements guitar solos (something many second wave, as well as modern black metal bands, tend to overlook), mid-section groove stomps and countless rhythm changes. When comparing this album to contemporaries of the time it is interesting to see how Darkthrone retained a death metal/trash sense of composure and time. "Immortal's Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" is a good, but wholly inspired by Bathory effort which offered little variance amongst its tracks and seemed much more restrained. also abstains from the absurdly fast-all-the-time style of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or the dreary slow dirge of Burzum. Really comes out as its own and as a unique vessel in the second wave. Like a good thrash album, This album offers a sense of fun and invigoration, something like feels more foreboding and moody.

Line up 1992

Nocturno Culto Vocals (lead), Guitars (lead)

Zephyrous Guitars (rhythm)

Fenriz Drums, Vocals (spoken lines, intro), Lyrics

The instrumentation, attention to detail, and overall vibe given by A Blaze In The Northern Sky seems to make their contemporaries look childish, Darkthrone were musicians and creators of music first and foremost, while they paid great attention to their appearance, it wasn't until Transilvanian Hunger that they begun to exchange creativity and performance for image and reputation.

The drums are so powerful and authoritarian on this album, I love it. They guide each song with such brute strength and have a great tone. Fenriz's performance is one of my favorites and is very fun and interesting to listen to. The guitar work is top notch and countless riffs are undeniable classics. Every song is a classic, its hard to skip anyone of them, and downright unfair to say anyone of them is unimportant.

Darkthrone have defiantly established themselves as one of the most important names in black metal, and much of that credit is given to Transilvanian Hunger. But it was with this album that Darkthrone modernized the music they had been influenced by and were able to create many of the variables that have characterized the scene since. The album surges and jumps, contains a vibrant and robust production that really emphasizes the power behind every instrument, another element they lost to the muffled and lifeless production of Transilvanian Hunger.

For me, it is a tough debate between De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or A Blaze in the Northern Sky as the king album of the second wave. They offer radically different approaches to the genre in question, and are amazing in their own right. A Blaze In The Northern Sky always seemed like a good stepping stone from thrash and death metal to black metal, Feels like an album that requires a lot from the listener and isn't as simple as just picking up.This is one of the few albums i actually have fun listening to as an activity in of itself. If this album doesn't catch your fancy the first time around, put it down and come back to it, because it really is a marvel and gem of music as a whole.

Some links about vids alive.

Live 1991

Finland 1991

"Paragon Belial"

Cannibal Corpse "Tomb Of The Mutilated" Metal Blade (1992)

Recorded in September 22th, 1992, "Tomb of the Mutilated" is witness to the fact that cannibal corpse were way ahead of their time. This was a pioneering album in the sense that, for its time,it had all the essence to inspire a style that a bazillion death metal bands would try and ape. 

This album is one of those rare albums that are released just once during a bands entire existence. Setting new standards in brutal death, "tomb of the mutilated" is a masterpiece. This is the gauge by which I measure the "brutality" of a band. Metal Blade classic masterpiece in metal extreme.

The production is average. But everything feels right. This album has the best sounding guitars compared to ALL their other releases- raw and heavy as fuck. The drums are well sounding, though slightly low in the mix.  The bass is clear and can be heard most of the time. Heavier and brutal sickness sounds.

Chris Barnes is at his ALL TIME career best. This is the lowest, sickest growl Ive ever heard in all my life. The words just boil through in that growly voice that so many death metal singers hope to achieve. But as you can make out you'll need the lyrics booklet to hear what hes saying.Rarely,he does break into a sick high pitched scream but doesnt make it a habit as you may hear on "the bleeding" and six feet under albums. Jack Owen and Bob Rusay in guitars, Alex Webster in bass and Paul Mazurkiewicz in drums.

Every song is a masterpiece.A lot of guys claim that the songs are monotonous, but I think Ive headbanged to this album so many times, I am quite familiar with all the riffs. The riffs rip, shred and hack in every song. The vocal patterns vary from song to song. Standing out on some tracks and on the rest just a regurtitation of lyrics on the rest. Either way, no song is incomplete. They all are packed with monstrous riffs and ultra low vocals gaurenteed to send half of the death metal bands around to the scrap heap, including the present day incarnation of cannibal corpse themselves. Take my word for it...Its that fucking good.

(Note : A poll on cannibal corpses official site some time back suggested that this album was a fan favourite beating out all their other albums by a considerable margin. Now, that tells a story does'nt it?)

The highlights of the album are:

"Hammer Smashed Face" : Known for some killer riffing and some of the best vocals ever heard in death metal. Also has a cool bass solo. The Undisputed heavyweight champion of 'em all.

"I Cum Blood" : Mid paced riffing.Some really really disgusting lyrics.Has a nice sludgy feel to it.

"Addicted To Vaginal Skin" : Starts of with a sick spoken word intro. Has some fast and furious riffing.The rythm section in between is the best.

"The Cryptic Stench" :One of my personal favourites from cannibal corpse.This song has a cool bass line in the start.

"Beyond The Cemetery" : Really fast and possesses a good riff.And the bass really stands out towards the end. Nice vocal patterns. And the ending part before the fade out is the best.Gaurenteed head banging.

"Tomb of the mutilated" is a must have for fans of the genre. Even the cover art is the sickest Ive seen. If you havent heard it yet, shame on you. Go get it and you'll get an idea of what standards death metal bands should follow.

1.     « Hammer Smashed Face» 4:04
2. «I Cum Blood» 3:41
3. «Addicted to Vaginal Skin» 3:31
4. «Split Wide Open» 3:02
5. «Necropedophile» 4:05
6. «The Cryptic Stench» 3:57
7. «Entrails Ripped from a Virgin's Cunt» 4:15
8. «Post Mortal Ejaculation» 3:37
9. «Beyond the Cemetery» 4:53
10. «I Cum Blood (live)»   4:12

Enjoy a few song of this album...

"I cum blood"

"Hammer Smashed Face"

"Adicted To Vaginal Skin"

Masters Cannibal Corpse 1992.

Seance "Fornever Laid To Rest" Black Mark Productions (1992)

I still remember the day when I got this album and played it on cassette for the first time. Bruuuutttaaaalll!!!! This is what I had in my mind then, as I was really blown away by the violent nature of Seance music. I was first quite surprised, as “Forneved Laid to Rest” didn’t sound like any other Swedish band I knew so far. I was a big fan of Dismember, Desultory, Cemetary, Epitaph and few others, and all these bands had more melodic style and none of them sounded as tight and extreme as this one. Of course Cannibal Corpse, but maybe some early Deicide influences may be spotted here and there, as well as strong Malevolent Creation vibe, but surely Seance hasn’t got anything in common with other bands from their homeland. 

Anyway, what I’m also going to say is that “Fornever Laid to Rest” is an ultimate, fast death metal cannonade. It’s so fast and uncompromising, so relentless and aggressive that its energy will crush your head with no hesitate. It’s classic death metal, no more or less. Eight tracks in total, circling around 30 minutes of musical slaughter will definitely be enough to please everybody. Release date in June 08th at 1992. One cult act in Old School Death Metal swedish scene.

The tracks are: 

1.-   Who Will Not Be Dead

2. Reincarnage

3. The Blessing of Death

4. Sin

5. Haunted

6. Fornever Laid to Rest

7. Necronomicon

8. Wind of Gehenna

9. Inferna Cabbala

Starting with “Reincarnage” this album doesn’t take even a minute to slow down or get quiet. It’s pure, raw energy, a maelstrom of torturing, blood spilling riffs. As I already mentioned Malevolent Creation earlier, I must admit that stylistically I can put Seance in similar box, as both bands use similar patterns, technique, tempos, riffing and influences. Another obvious source of influence must be good old Deicide, especially as Seance also create quite dark, horror and blasphemous atmosphere, only not so completely satanic and lunatic… The member are Tony Kampner and Patrik Jensen in the brutal guitars, Bino Carlsson in the bass, Micke Pettersson in drums and Johan Larsson in the sickness vocals. 

From the other hand I think that Seance music has more space, more ability to include varied parts, even melodies, like in this great song titled “Haunted”. But “Reincarnage” is definitely one of the more noticeable songs, with some truly killer riffs, great guitar leads and memorable chorus. “Sin” is another my favourite, with fuckin great riffs, all played in merciless fast tempo, with almost thrash metal aggression and really vicious vocals from Johan Larsson. I definitely love this song! It’s surprising, but the songs I like most from “Fornever Laid to Rest” are those from the “Levitised Spirits” demo! Seance re-recorded four demo anthems here: “Reincarnage”, “Sin”, great “Haunted” and “The Blessing of Death”; each worth being on this vinyl, as they’re brilliant! And they’re some of the fastest and most relentless tracks on the album. 

Of the new songs, the title track brings my attention as its energy and brutality is able to blow out the speakers. Meanwhile “Necronomicon” is probably the least favourite song here (still good though!), played in much slower tempo, with some experimental parts here and there… That’s the example for the space in Seance music for more varied parts I mentioned earlier. It sounds OK and completes the album nicely, but if I had to choose the worst track here, it would be this one. “Wind of Gehenna” has great Vader-eqsue vibe and could easily find its place on “Sothis” for instance, it’s another slower, but this time really great song, with some of the best riffing on the album and even the fact that it’s an instrumental track doesn’t disturb enjoying it and banging my head with furious strength. 

Production wise “Fornever Laid To Rest” is also spotless, I totally like the way guitars and drums sound, also the vocals, etc. Add to all this brilliant front cover from mighty Dan Seagrave and definitely we can speak of one of the greatest and most complete death metal albums ever. 

Here some a few tracks in the album, I hope you enjoy it 

Hail Old Swedish Death Metal '90s . 

Blackthorn "The Rotten Ways Of Human Misery" Avanzada Metallica (1992)

En la escena mexicana de los años '90s cuando las bandas del país estaban influenciadas por las escenas de Florida, la sueca, la inglesa así como la finesa del Old School Death Metal trataban de abrirse paso a través de sus propios medios al no existir estudios así como ingenieros y productores que les produjeran un auténtico sonido demoledor que transmitiera la verdadera esencia de su estilo así como la esencia musical de las bandas, aún así encontramos a bandas que lograron posicionarse con una producción decente ante las producciones extranjeras si bien no igualándolas en el nivel si acercándose mucho ante la influencia de las mezclas y producciones que tenían las labels de otro país. Ahí fue un gran logro de la mítica label Avanzada Metálica quienes con su visión permitieron que los fans del metal extremo del país fueran conociendo más bandas así como algunas hordas nacionales de poco tiempo de formación. Es el caso de la banda de culto Blackthorn quienes con un demo en 1991 se pusieron a las órdenes de la label para dar paso a una de las producciones más emblemáticas de la escena mexicana: "The Rotten Ways Of Human Misery" en 1992.

El track list de ese disco fue el siguiente: 

1.     Throes of Death

2. Gangrene

3. Embryonic Mutilation

4. Criminal Ecstasy

5. Human Abattoir

6. Harrowing Beheading

7. Slow Extinction of Life

8. Traumatic Survival

9. Buried Alive (Underground Agony)

La alineación de 1992 utilizada por la banda estaba conformada por Mark D'Santiago en el bajo, Armando Mondragón en la batería, los maestros Eric Olvera y Guillermo Anaya en las guitarras, mientras que Paul John Mallory (R.I.P. 2013) se hizo cargo de las vocales de todo el disco. Las letras de la agrupación hablaban de la muerte, el sufrimiento, la pobreza, del caos que la humanidad pudiera estar pasando ante los millones de pobres existentes en el mundo, una gran temática de las bandas de aquella época alejada un poco de los tópicos comunes como los asesinatos o mutilaciones de las bandas extranjeras, pero que encajaban perfecto con el estilo de la banda. 

El estilo de la banda se enfocaba en el Old School Death Metal combinado con algunos riffs que rozaban el Black Metal de las escenas europeas haciendo de su sonido algo diferente con respecto a los demás, todas las canciones rozan la brutalidad y la técnica en los riffs de las guitarras dobles con muchos cambios de ritmo dentro de su composición sin llegar a tener pasajes acústicos o instrumentales largos. Las canciones te atrapan desde el inicio con esa tremenda técnica de los instrumentos debido a que despliegan excelentes riffs en todo momento con la adecuada introducción de las voces. 

En verdad que éste disco gozó de buena aceptación en su tiempo ya que formó parte de la discografía con la cual la escena mexicana se daba a conocer, es importante no confundir a ésta banda con una del mismo nombre integrada por mujeres, ya que es justo reconocer la esencia de la agrupación mexicana en todo momento debido a que el full-lenght fue el único que grabó lamentablemente pero que nos dejó como herencia musical para todos aquellos adeptos de los años '90s cuando en el metal extremo se encontraba en todo su apogeo en el mundo y parte de la contribución a esa escena es la grabación de éste disco de 1992. Celebramos su reedición por ser una obra de culto a través de la label Gates Of Hell productions con el mismo arte y diseño.

Aquí algunos links de las piezas del disco.

"Gangrene" 

"Human Abattoir" 

"Harrowing Beheading" 

Immortal "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" Osmose Prods. (1992)

El 1 de julio de 1992 salía publicada el primer full-lenght de la banda noruega Immortal, luego de editar un demo y un Ep en 1991. Antes habría que mencionar parte de la historia del movimiento del Inner Circle, su líder Euronymous fue quien introdujo al Black Metal a Abbath Doom Occulta a quién conoció en su tienda de discos Helvete, éste a su vez a Varg Vikernes en dicho movimiento underground. El resultado lo conocemos todos con la formación de las bandas IMMORTAL y BURZUM, así como los escabrosos acontecimientos del año 1994. Aunque los miembros de esta banda nunca se vieron involucrados en los procesos judiciales que se les siguieron a otros músicos como Thorns, Emperor y más por la quema de iglesias, asesinatos y demás cargos que se presentaron.

La Osmose Productions de Francia se encargó de editar y publicar este primer trabajo, que grabó este trabajo como un trío ya que junto a Abbath Doom Occulta quien estuvo al frente de las voces y del bajo, su hermano Demonaz Doom Occulta en las veloces guitarras y de las letras; por último los acompañó en la batería el nombrado como Armaggeda. En la producción estuvo Eirik Hundvin “Pytten” un productor serio, habitual y reconocido de Bergen, Noruega que se ocupó de las mezclas y del sonido poderoso de la banda en los estudios Greighallen durante Abril de ese mismo año.

El álbum contiene 7 piezas incluido un intro inicial. 

"Intro" 

"The Call of the Wintermoon" 

"Unholy Forces of Evil" 

"Cryptic Winterstorms"

"Cold Winds of Funeral Dust" 

"Blacker Than Darkness" 

"A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland"

Además se grabó un video clip de uno de los tracks de este trabajo. La canción inicial “The Call Of The Wintermoon” es una gran composición para abrir el trabajo, con las guitarras veloces de Demonaz y el bajeo de Abbath así como las malignas voces de Abbath, la batería se escucha decentemente gracias a la mezcla y el ingeniero de sonido. Las guitarras acústicas son parte de esta pieza aunque no desentonan con lo que se escucha más adelante gracias al estilo de Black Metal que practicaba en ese entonces el grupo.

Otra gran composición es la titulada “Unholy Forces Of Evil” con esas guitarras acústicas y melódicas en el inicio de la pieza para luego dar paso a la velocidad que no tienen nada de melodía y si mucha rudeza, la ecualización del sonido nos permite escuchar que no hay rasgueos agudos y si notas graves, buenos compases de la batería. La voz de Abbath se encuentra en gran nivel vociferando cada una de las letras de la canción.

La última pieza destacada es la titulada “Cryptic Winterstorms” con unas buenas guitarras acústicas iniciales para que seguidamente suenen las guitarras distorsionadas con unos buenos rasgueos oscuros en todo lo largo del track que la hacen una composición muy oscura como disfrutable, ya que los rifs de Demonaz son de lo más adictivos durante toda la pieza.

Se publicó en formatos CD, cassette y vinilo por la Osmose Productions de Francia durante el año 1992, desde esa fecha se volvió a reeditar en Picture disc en 1997 y una versión regular en 2005, la Osmose Productions siempre apoyó a la agrupación en todo el proceso de publicar los trabajos de la banda. Incluido las reediciones que periódicamente se realizan para alegría de todos los metalheads de años cuando salió la banda y de las nuevas generaciones que se han hecho fanáticos del grupo.

Como anecdotario de este trabajo en la parte posterior del CD y en el cassette de la primera edición, hay un error en la canción “Cold Winds of Funeral Dust”, ya que está escrito como “Cold Winds Of Feneral Dust”. Que en las posteriores reediciones fue corregido por la label francesa. Espero que ésta breve reseña te haga conseguir una copia de las reediciones o de la primera edición si deseas pero en las páginas donde la rematan pero con altos precios. Que el disco en si es una obra maestra.

"Call Of Wintermoon" 

"Criptic Winterstorms" 

"A Perfect Vision Of The Rising Northland"

Hypocrisy "Penetralia" (Nuclear Blast, 1992)

"Penetralia" es el álbum debut de la banda de Death Metal: Hypocrisy lanzado el 5 de octubre 1992. La portada del disco fue creada por Dan Seagrave, quien también ha creado portadas para Pestilence, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, entre otros. Penetralia es considerado un clásico de la banda, ya que el uso de sintetizadores, teclados y guitarra acústica en algunas canciones (predominantemente en la canción Penetralia y casi al final de Left to Rot) creaba un sonido más oscuro y tétrico.

A pesar de que Masse Broberg era el vocalista de la banda, Peter Tägtgren fue quien cantó el último tema, "Penetralia" lo cual sucitaría una guerra de "egos" al interior de la banda. El álbum fue lanzado sin un booklet con letras ya que Peter Tägtgren no se sentía satisfecho con las letras creadas por Masse Broberg, cosa que se repetiría para su siguiente álbum, Osculum Obscenum. 

Penetralia fue remasterizado y re-lanzado por la discográfica Metal Mind Productions el 12 de mayo de 2008 con 2 canciones extra. Nuclear Blast remasterizó y re-lanzó Penetralia junto con Osculum Obscenum en una edición limitada de 2 discos el 12 de julio de 2013.

Como curiosidad sabemos que la canción "God is a..". se llamaba originalmente "God is a Lie", pero el nombre fue cambiado para evitar controversias.

Todas las letras creadas por Masse Broberg excepto la que hemos mencionado y el título de las canciones es el siguiente, muchas de ellas tienen títulos muy cercanos a los utilizadas en el Black Metal.

1. «Impotent God»  

2. «Suffering Souls»  

3. «Nightmare»  

4. «Jesus Fall»  

5. «God is a...»  

6. «Left to Rot»  

7. «Burn by the Cross»  

8. «To Escape is to Die»  

9. «Take the Throne»  

10. «Penetralia»  

El demoledor line up estuvo integrado por Masse Broberg en la voz (temas 1-9); Peter Tägtgren en la guitarra y voz (tema 10), teclados (tema 10), batería (temas 1-3, 5-8); Mikael Hedlund en el bajo; Jonas Österberg en las guitarras y Lars Szöke en la batería (temas 4, 9, 10). 

"Penetralia", lanzado en el año 1992, es el primero de larga duración de la banda sueca. Esto es un diluvio de estilos, casi todos muy buenos, pero hay uno predominante que es el Death Metal de florida, como otros aspectos importantes se destaca la gran influencia del Thrash Metal, y algo de Black. La guitarra es lo más interesante que se puede encontrar en el disco, son estupendos los riffs que como se decía tienen bastante uso de los ritmos tipo Thrash, en los tempos son predominantes las medias velocidades, alguna veces aceleran, otras hasta caen en una atmósfera lenta y oscura. La batería es fuerte en su tono y se puede decir que es agradable, nada técnica, veloz, ni del otro mundo, pero se puede seguir con buen ritmo y sumado al estupendo trabajo de guitarras se disfruta bastante ya que lo que si tiene es mucha coordinación. La voz es difícil de calificar, he visto y leído que muchos comparten mi primera impresión del tono, y es que resulta en la mayoría una voz fea y poco concordada con la calidad instrumental, sin embargo después de escuchado el disco por varias ocasiones se acostumbra uno, así que no es un factor predominante en todas las escuchas. La producción a cargo del propio Peter Tägtgren y del dueño de la label Markus Staiger, le hace falta mucho, pero como primeros pinitos esta bien, por lo menos pareciera un aceptable tono de instrumentos.

"Left To Rot"(Video oficial)

"Burn By The Cross"

"Nightmare"

"Penetralia"

"God Is A..."

Baphomet "The Dead Shall Inherit" (Peaceville Rec, 1992)

Baphomet es una banda originaria de Buffalo, Nueva York surgida en el año de 1987 no hay que confundirlos con otra banda que son de Salt Lake City o de Alemania con el mismo nombre. En el año de 1991 publicaron su primer material en formato vinilo titulado "Inheritors Of The Dead" (Peaceville Records) luego de varios demos que los llevaron a insertarse en las filas del incipiente movimiento Old School Death Metal que surgía en Florida y en países como Reino Unido, Suecia o Finlandia. 

Así luego de conseguir excelentes críticas con su álbum debut y de realizar pequeñas giras por varios estados de la Unión Americana, consiguieron que la label Peaceville Records continuara con el apoyo a su obra musical. Así surgió el segundo material discográfico de la banda titulado "The Dead Shall Inherit" el 5 de mayo de 1992 el cual incluyo 10 canciones devastadoras de puro Old School Death Metal con lo que su camino se consolidaba como una de las bandas más representativas de la escena a nivel mundial. La banda compuesta por Tom Frost en las poderosas vocales, Gary Schipani en el bajo, Rick Breier en la batería y Dave Craiglow en las guitarras. Todos ellos estuvieron bajo la tutela de Dennis Fura con el cual coproducieron éste emblemático trabajo.

Sus discos eran realmente difíciles de conseguir tanto el primero como el segundo que salió en formato de CD y vinilo debido en parte al tiraje original que la label publicó para comercializar, y es que hablamos de 1000 copias en CD y poco más de 500 en formato análogo. Aún así la banda gozaba de popularidad entre los fans de todo el mundo y la prensa especializada de la época. El disco tenía un arte macabro en la portada como todos los de aquella época se podría decir que sabías la masacre auditiva a la que estarías expuesto al escuchar el trabajo de la banda.

Las 10 canciones que vienen en el álbum son: 

1. The Suffering (5:01)

2. Through Deviant Eyes (4:01)

3. Leave the Flesh (3:00)

4. Valley of the Dead (4:19)

5. Torn Soul (3:10)

6. Vile Reminiscence (3:00)

7. Boiled In Blood (4:29)

8. The Age of Plague (3:31)

9. Infection of Death (3:23)

10. Streaks of Blood (4:37)

Desde el corte de inicio "The Suffering" hasta la campanada final "Streaks of Blood" el denominador común aquí no resulta ser otro que el del más puro y vicioso salvajismo en los riffs de guitarra y la aplastante batería, pero no nos llevemos a engaño: Brutalidad y salvajismo no son conceptos necesariamente reñidos con buenos resultados al menos en lo que se refiere la cuestión musical del estilo, aquí si las cosas se hacen con seriedad y con cabeza los resultados saltan a la vista, a pesar de ser un álbum más seco y sobrio que otra cosa ‘The Dead Shall Inherit’ representa como pocos trabajos el Death Metal americano competente, añejo y corrosivo de toda la vida, así como por extensión a toda la abrasiva escena procedente de la gran metrópolis, dentro de la cual podríamos recordar a gente del calado de MORPHEUS DESCEND o tantísimos otros como por ejemplo CEREMONIUM, CROSS FADE, INTERNAL BLEEDING, AFTERBIRTH o los mismos BANISHED; Nombre que tomaron los propios BAPHOMET después de 1992 luego de algunos problemas legales con otra banda germana del mismo nombre.

Todos los temas son geniales algunos con una mejor estructura que otros yo difícilmente elegiría a unos cuantos como los mejores debido al nivel bien equilibrado de las composiciones de la banda. Así que les dejo algunos links para que escuchen una muestra de poder de ésta emblemática banda que a partir del 2013 volvió a la escena aunque aún no sabemos si grabaran nuevos discos de estudio. 

"Valey Of The Dead"

"Streaks Of Blood"

"Torn Soul"

"Boiled In Blood"

Es una lástima que no se haya reeditado el primer material de la banda, pero con las últimas reediciones de su segundo material nos hemos puesto muy agradecidos por tenerlos en las tiendas especializadas de metal extremo alrededor del mundo. Sin duda que los BAPHOMET debieron tener mejor suerte en el camino y ser parte de aquellos "monstruos" del Death Metal de los años '90s. Pero para ello los estamos recordando con esta reseña. Hasta la próxima entrada de más material old school

Horns Up