Altar / Cartilage split album "Ex Oblivione / The Fragile Concept Of Affection" Drowned Productions (1992)

Nowadays this split LP can be considered as a true classic of old school death metal, but one which is rare and very hard to find. But its musical content says everything about it – we deal here with two great traditional death metal bands. First is the Swedish Altar, who slaughters the listener with five new tracks (plus two of the demo on a CD version). The band performs classic death metal, which takes much of the credit from some British bands (early Paradie Lost), but I have an impression some of these riffs are slightly more melodic when comparing them to the demo, and thus this way Altar has more similarities to bands like early Amorphis, Excruciate and Dismember (just listen to “Lifeless Passion” – this is traditional Swedish death metal song!). But the opening song “Nothing Human” is just fast neck-breaker, with really uncompromising opening part. Surprisingly the slower motif has some keyboard parts, which give quite a horror / creepy result. “Lifeless Passion” and “A Message From the Grave” are infectiously melodic, with those “The Karelian Isthmus” like riffs that stick in your head instantly, but the second of these songs is much faster than rest of “Ex Oblivione”, while the first of these two reminds me also some old Polish bands like Hazael, Armagedon and Betrayer. I’m surprised to hear the short piano part in the mid part of this track, but from the other hand it fits it well.

Tracklist from split 1992

Ex Oblivione

–Altar (3) Nothing Human 4:02

–Altar (3) Lifeless Passion 3:23

–Altar (3) Decapitated (New Version) 3:33

–Altar (3) Daymare / A Message From The Grave 4:50

–Altar (3) Ex Oblivione 5:24

Bonus Tracks

–Altar (3) Severed On The Attic 5:19

–Altar (3) No Flesh Shall Be Spared 5:49

The Fragile Concept Of Affection

–Cartilage The Underworld 4:15

–Cartilage Afterlife Sorrow (Infernal Paradise II) 4:46

–Cartilage Why Do I Watch The Dawn? 4:34

–Cartilage Consanguine To Understanding 4:56

–Cartilage Blessing In Depths 2:25

Bonus Tracks

–Cartilage Intro / The Altar 5:54

–Cartilage Ether Depression     5:50 

The opening motif of “Decapitated” also has piano – and it sounds awesome when it accompanies the heavy slow riff. It re-appears also in some other great slow patterns, just for a while, but it’s enough to show that Altar really had some great and unusual ideas. It all sounds great within this classic death / thrash skeleton. You know, it’s not something particularly original, there were many other bands, which have been using something like that on their albums and demos, but Altar has done it in a great way and have many killer riffs. Their material has a high quality, and such song as “Ex Oblivione” only confirms it. This is really fast and aggressive as hell track, with some stabbing riffs and cool vocals. At the end (on CD only) Altar also serves us two demo tracks (and we can notice a development in Altar’s style – for little less brutal and surely much faster and more melodious), so yeah – definitely their part of the split is worth to listen to.

And what about Cartilage… Well, before I got a chance to listen to their part of the split I didn’t know much about the band. But I also enjoyed their songs. Their style is a bit different. To some point, they carry the tradition of many other early Finnish bands like Purtenance, Abhorrence or Adramelech. Their death metal is massive, brutal, often slow but mostly mid paced, but they do have also plenty of faster motives and sometimes even some more melodic riffs. This is a style, which also reminds me the American legends called Baphomet. So, definitely great stuff! Cartilage also managed to put some surprising stuff in their music though, like the wonderfully epic opening for “Afterlife Sorrow” for instance with the keyboards accompanying the slow majestic riff. “Blessing In Depth” is another different song, basically instrumental, very slow and epic, with keyboards all over it, so the final result is really dark and majestic. But all in all Cartilage performs pretty standard death metal. And I do enjoy it quite a lot… But from both I would rather pick Altar as the better band. Definitely though this is one of my favourite split albums ever, truly a cult stuff, pity then it is so damn expensive!.

By Dismember_Marcin

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.

Hypocrisy "The Fourth Dimension" Nuclear Blast 1994

Hypocrisy never caught my complete attention, musically talking, maybe except for their masterpiece Abducted that featured a violent change of musical direction towards more melodic and weird sounds. That change anyway passed also through another album, this The Fourth Dimension that opened the gates of a more mature sound for them. The violence of the early years and albums was still present but this album featured also more mature and technical compositions. 

Another change we can see is the one that happened behind the microphone. Magnus "Masse" Bromberg has been “replaced” by the real mastermind here, Peter Tagtgren that at first was playing the guitars only. This is I think the most important change ever by this band. This guy, initially heavily influenced by the american brutal death metal, had the chance to mature and fill the sound with new elements from his mind and intelligence. It was like everything had to be redone, re-played and reconstructed once again. 

The cold brutality of the past efforts this time has been filtrated through another kind of obscurity and coldness. If the one at the beginning was pure Satanic and violent, this time the futurism, the Sci-Fi themes were the most important thing. So, we begin with the strangely mid-paced “Apocalypse” that shows weird keyboards passages and good, melodic lead guitars lines under a suffered growl that sometimes turns also in screams. Peter has grown a lot technically and he could do anything in creative field for his new creature, his new Hypocrisy. 

The production this time is more “full” and the guitars are never full of that sick distortion like in the past. This time, they are more simply and more powerful in sounds while we go on meeting the great tempo changes of “Mind Corruption” and the apocalyptic atmospheres of “Reincarnation”. The growls are truly powerful and the melodies are always the important thing. These songs are really astonishing for their musical burden of darkness, sorrow and somehow something artificial and scientific. More than once I felt to be in a mysterious area where weird experiments are occulted to the common people. 

“Reborn” and “Orgy In Blood” are just the two of the most representative examples of the most violent death metal band’s side. Anyway, also during these parts the way of playing and the more “controlled” fury help in creating more mature and less chaotic compositions. In these cases the tremolo picking is the most utilized technique while during the other, more melodic, songs the open chords long noted are required to give the right atmosphere. Anyway, it is good to notice that also during the fastest compositions they never abandoned that burden of darkness and occultism. 

“Black Forest” is shocking for the number of tempo changes inside it and they lead also to complete changes of atmosphere. For example, check the mid-paced beginning that turns to galloping riffs in the middle and flows directly into a kind of obscure and sad black metal part by the end. Unbelievable. Sometimes, during the path to the Fourth Dimension we can meet also whispered vocals, melodic solos and melodic death metal parts. I believe that this album is the most representative for the growing melodic death metal scene, and not Heartwork like many say. 

This album is the classic example of unexpected, surprising, astonishing and unpredictable musical change by a band. When you leave the band to someone competent this is what you get. A great album. Actually, the new efforts by this band are a bit beyond for me and too strange for my tastes but if you want to enjoy the Hypocrisy’s essence, take this one and Abducted. The previous albums were Okay but with these two the things got really yummy. 

Marduk "Nightwing" Osmose Productions (1998)

"Nightwing" was the fourth album by Marduk that I got to know and besides "World Funeral" it is my favourite up to date. It was the first time that I found an album of a Black Metal band truely epic and hymnic without them using a keyboard or an orchestra. They are using just three instruments and with them they are creating an evil, dark atmosphere that graps you by the throat and holds you there until the end of the last track.

The first four tracks (actually tracks two to four, because track one is only an intro) are the generic "Satan... grwuff... evil... kill god... sacrifice virgin"-stuff one would expect from a Black Metal band, but (just if the last words sounded kind of negative) those songs are great. They are executed perfectly with great guitar-riffing, precise drumming, a bass that one can more feel than hear and Legions godlike vocals. (Kind of strange in this context, isn't it?)

Chapter I - Dictionnaire Infernal

No. Title Length

1. "Preludium" 2:09

2. "Bloodtide (XXX)" 6:43

3. "Of Hells Fire" 5:22

4. "Slay the Nazarene" 3:48

5. "Nightwing" 7:34

Chapter II - The Warlord of Wallachia

No. Title Length

6. "Dreams of Blood and Iron" 6:19

7. "Dracole Wayda" 4:07

8. "Kaziklu Bey (The Lord Impaler)" 4:02

9. "Deme Quaden Thyrane" 5:06

10. "Anno Domini 1476" 2:13 

But then the whole concept of the album changes when the hymnic riff of "Nightwing" comes out of the boxes and evolves into Legions great memorable scream "Nightwing, fly across the sky". From this point on there's no more "Satan... grwuff... (you know what I mean)"-stuff. The new main-character of Marduks unholy opera is Vlad the Impaler. Hold on, before you say "Aww, shit, only melo-black-pussies deal with this vampire-stuff", because this is not about vampires, this is about the Kaziklu Bey, the romanian national hero, not the guy created by Bram Stoker. The six tracks tell the story of Vlad and his war against the turks to his death in 1476. The musical style stays the same during this part of the album (except the last rack, "Anno Domini 1476", that sounds a bit like a march with distorted guitars), the lyrics change to (well written - something one can not always expect from swedish bands) tales of war and bloodshed during the 15th century. So even if there are two "parts" of this album, it sounds very homogene. And let me tell you: it sounds great. 

On Nightwing, the theme is blood, divided in two parts: The first in the satanic ways customary of Marduk's lyrics, but the second part tells the history of Vlad 'Tepes' Drakul, the Impaler of Wallachia who fought against the Ottoman invasion on Europe, giving continuity to the history started on "Deme Quaden Thyrane", a track from their third studio album, Opus Nocturne, and continued with "Dracul Va Domni Din Nou In Transylvania" from Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered. "Deme Quaden Thyrane" appears also here, rearranged, with Legion's vocals and a little change in the lyrics at the end. The final song of the album, "Anno Domini 1476", ends with a sample from the fascist march "La Lupta Muncitori" ("The Legionary Worker's march") by the Romanian Iron Guard, a violently anti-semitic and pro-Nazi organization whose aim was to exterminate the Jews and socialists in the country and took part in the Holocaust during the second world war. 

The link

At The Gates "Slaughter Of The Soul"

Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on October 3, 1995. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. Slaughter of the Soul is considered a landmark in melodic death metal and played a major role in popularizing the Gothenburg scene, alongside The Jester Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquillity.[1] The album was recorded and mixed in Studio Fredman, early 1995.

All lyrics written by Lindberg; all music composed by Björler, Björler, except where noted.

Slaughter of the Soul is masterfully crafted in design, both technically and lyrically, And through sheer talent At The Gates managed to create, or at least contribute to a new genre of music, melodic metal core. A hybrid of melodic death metal fused with elements of metal core, Without this album, bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage as well as Unearth and many more simply would not exist today if not for Slaughter of the Soul. 

Slaughter Of The Soul is fantastic from start to finish and does not let off the throttle. It contains some of At The Gates best tracks and arguably some of the best tracks ever written in metal. Blinded By Fear, Slaughter Of The Soul, Under A Serpent Sun and Cold are some of the stand out tracks from the album. The album has also managed to stand the test of time and is amazing even in to date. Without giving too much of the album away I do wish to tell you about two of the tracks off this album, Blinded By Fear and the title track Slaughter Of The Soul. 

Blinded By Fear starts off incredibly fast and doesn’t slow down. Anders Bjoler and Martin Larssons work on the guitars make it impossible for you to not bang your head to. With the blistering fast pace tempo they set, It is quite impressive that Adrian Erlandsson is able to keep up the pace and blast away. Last but not least you have to admire how remarkable Tomas Lindberg’s screaming is, He makes you feel the rage in his voice and makes you want to scream alongside him, while making it sound majestic as hell. Slaughter Of The Soul is a whole other beast to tackle. While the track does have a similar style to Blinded By Fear it varies enough to make it truly remarkable and stand out, which is exactly what you expect from the title track. Unlike Blinded By Fear where you feel synonymous with the fast paced drumming and the rhythm of the guitarists it’s the vocals that truly stand out. The screaming is at another level, Its so raw and anger filled, yet at the same time its graceful and poetic. It’s a hard feeling to explain, which is why I recommend you listen to it yourself. 

At the end of the day Slaughter Of The Soul has everything a metal fan could desire. Amazing riffs, blistering solos, Pounding drums as well as screams to scare everyone on your block. If you have been living under a rock and haven’t heard this album I desperately urge you to give it a listen. It is widely regarded as one of the best albums out of any genre of music ever produced, It deserves that honor because every track is perfect. All in all, I would highly suggest listening to Slaughter Of The Soul.

Track listing 

01. Blinded By Fear

02. Slaughter Of The Soul

03. Cold

04. Under A Serpent Sun

05. Into The Dead Sky

06. Suicide Nation

07. World Of Lies

08. Unto Others

09. Nausea

10. Need

11. The Flames Of The End

Dark Funeral "Where Shadow Forever Reign" Century Media (2016)

Dark Funeral are back after a very short break. It took only seven years. No doubt, Lord Ahriman hates to be passive. However, the band has returned to blue artworks after a red period. The stereotypical yet great painting provides clues about the musical offering. In accordance with the generic cover scenario, the nine compositions show their force without unveiling any kind of experiments. Guess the hiatus of seven years was too short for having a new idea...? Maybe this sounds negative, but this lack of innovations has positive aspects as well. It ensures that Dark Funeral stay away from symphonic bombast, ambient accidents and progressive bulkiness. No doubt, that's a good thing. "Where Shadows Forever Reign" are awesome Black Metal. 

The track list are: 

1.     Unchain My Soul

2. As One We Shall Conquer

3. Beast Above Man

4. As I Ascend

5. Temple of Ahriman

6. The Eternal Eclipse

7. To Carve Another Wound

8. Nail Them to the Cross

9. Where Shadows Forever Reign

The line up are:

Lord Ahriman Guitars, Bass, Lyrics (tracks 4, 5), Songwriting

Chaq Mol Guitars

Dominator Drums, Songwriting (tracks 1, 2, 8)

Heljarmadr Vocals

Anyway, surprisingly calm tones open the album. But rest assured, it does not take long until the combative institution calls for battle. "Unchain My Soul", the initial explosion, is a fine combination of catchy elements and furious leads. The black lava starts to flow and covers all areas. In addition, the subliminal riffing creates an aura of desperation and a short break emphasises the brutality of the fast parts, while the dense and powerful production has a homicidal touch. There can be no question that Dark Funeral wanted to have exactly this sound. By the way, they introduce a new lead vocalist successfully. His contribution is on a par with that of the vigorous instrumental section. He does not revolutionize the overall appearance of the band, but he delivers the appropriate amount of hate, nastiness and violence. Mission fulfilled, I would say.

Dark Funeral still love velocity and tracks like "Beast Above Man" or "As One We Shall Conquer" (fantastic verses!) leave no doubt that the dudes are still able to compose and perform gripping high speed eruptions. Yet the band also likes to take a bath in slowly flowing rivers. The fairly cautious "Temple of Ahriman" (the boss seems to be a little bit vain - why didn't they call it "Temple of Felix 1666"?) is driven by flattening double bass, but its most conspicuous feature is constituted by the extremely mature melody that forms the chorus. Placed on position five, this temple stands in the centre of the album and I do not think that this is a coincidence. A very strong piece - its only blemish is that it has been previously released. The same applies for the solid "Nail Them to the Cross". I hate this kind of recycling, but that's another story.

The shady creatures have penned a compact, more or less monolithic full-length. No inadequate elements disturb the eternal reign of shadows and the only number that cannot keep the quality level (the almost doomy "As I Ascend") does not spoil the joy about the comeback of the legend from Sweden. Too bad that Ahriman is not tortured by the restlessness that haunts Morgan, the mastermind of Marduk. Otherwise, this would probably be the tenth or eleventh blazing full-length of his army. However, the final highlight of "Where Shadows Forever Reign" is marked by the smoothly running "To Carve Another Wound". Its demoniac profoundness lends the mid-paced track an intense aura. Inter alia due to songs of this black grandeur, I am curious to see what Dark Funeral will deliver on their next full-length. I am sure, we will be smarter in seven years.

Recorded at the Dugout Studios in Uppsala, Sweden during February 1st - 26th, 2016.

HAIL DARK FUNERAL!!!!

Marduk "Infernal Eternal" Blooddawn Productions (2000)

MARDUK, when one says this name, every real black metal fan shivers. Authors of the of the most powerful back metal songs thoughout legendary albums like Nightwing and Panzer Division Marduk, the Beast celebrates its 10th birthday, a magnificent present for the fans, a double live album! The set list is awsome, it perferctly resumes this black metal monument which is Marduk, with their greatest songs, it lasts quite long (1 hour 20)... actually it lasts really long, i don't know if my ears would have survived had I been there! The sound is great, the guitar riffs harass your ears with incredible velocity, very effective.

The drumming stays in rythm (which means nice and fast), it just never stops. And Legion's singing is actually screeching like hell, he just throws up his words into your face.

Globally this is a very powerful live which demonstrates Marduk's career 'beautifully' (if i may say so), good sound, maybe too good, it almosts looks studio recorded. Anyway, Marduk stays Marduk, which means awesome.

Get this release double disc.

Disc 1

1. Panzer Division Marduk

2. Burn My Coffin

3. Baptism by Fire

4. The Sun Turns Black as Night

5. Of Hell's Fire

6. 502

7. Materialized in Stone

8. Beast of Prey

9. Those of the Unlight

10. Sulphur Souls

11. Dreams of Blood and Iron

12. Fistfucking God's Planet

Disc 2

1. On Darkened Wings

2. Into the Crypts of Rays (Celtic Frost cover)

3. Still Fucking Dead

4. Slay the Nazarene

5. Departure from the Mortals

6. Legion

Marduk alive plays fast. That's the constant here. But they have some great ideas and variations that they should be doing in greater numbers. Doing so could bring some less speed-oriented playing and add blastbeats give another dimension to the music.

One of the aspects that brought my attention was the guitars. There are no "scary" melodies (aka minor or minor/harmonic scales). And since I have heard countless bands using this melodic stuff, listening to Marduk was almost refreshing. Most of the guitar/bass parts are solid. The band sounds 'infernal'.

A few examples about Marduk sound alive.

Hail MARDUK

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 . 

Dark Funeral "Secrets Of The Black Arts" No Fashion Rec (1996)

Luego de su Ep publicado en 1994 de manera independiente titulada como el nombre de la banda DARK FUNERAL. El sello MNW/No Fashion Records decidió ficharlos para el año 1995, luego que la banda había pasado por un proceso de renovación y fortalecimiento y vaya de que manera. Ya que los miembros fundadores y dúo de guitarristas emblemáticos Blackmoon (David Parland) y Lord Ahriman (Micke Svanberg) decidieron hacer audiciones para completar el bajista, batería y vocalista de la banda, quedándose en el puesto Draugen (Joel Andersson) en la  batería y Themgoroth (Paul Mäkitalo) en el bajo y en las voces malignas. Sin embargo durante el año 1995 fue expulsado Draugen y en su lugar se quedó Equimanthorn (Peter Eklund). Con esta alineación entraron al estudio para grabar su disco debut, un impresionante asalto de Black Metal no sólo sueco sino de la historia.

Este disco contó con la producción del máster Dan Swäno un verdadero referente en el sonido, ecualización y mezclas de diversos trabajos de bandas de Metal. Swäno lo realizó en los Unisound Studios durante principios del año 1995, pero el guitarrista Blackmoon no le gustó los resultados entregados por el productor debido a que en sus propias palabras por “la severidad no profesional y la manera de realizarlo” por lo que además esto se sumaba al cansancio de la banda de sus giras previas en festivales de Europa, así como muchos dolores de cabeza en el estudio en particular por el baterista quien no realizó en sus funciones lo que le correspondía y o que pidieron que realizará durante la grabación. Para Blackmoon la grabación fue un verdadero desastre por lo que decidieron regrabarlo en junio de ese mismo año pero con la ayuda de Peter Tägtgren de Hypocrisy como productor. Aunque Blackmoon ya no participó en las regrabaciones de éste disco al oponerse a las condiciones ya descritas.

Así un 28 de enero de 1996 fue publicado por fin el álbum debut de Dark Funeral con la compañía No Fashion Records. La banda sueca por fin daba el salto a los stands de las distribuidoras de discos independientes y especializadas en este tipo de subgénero. Rápidamente fue del agrado de muchos fans de la época quienes los habían acogido en los diversos festivales de Europa donde ya se habían presentado, así que el disco fue bastante bien recibido casi desde un principio. Además el 31 de julio fue lanzada una remasterización del mismo con un disco bonus que no fue otro que la grabación original de la cual se quejó Blackmoon. El track list del disco debut fue el siguiente: 

"The Dark Age Has Arrived (intro)" 

"The Secrets of the Black Arts" 

"My Dark Desires" 

"The Dawn No More Rises" 

"When Angels Forever Die" 

"The Fire Eternal" 

"Satan's Mayhem" 

"Shadows Over Transylvania" 

"Bloodfrozen" 

"Satanic Blood" 

"Dark Are the Paths to Eternity (A Summoning Nocturnal)"

La banda se caracterizó por tener un sonido doble en los rifs agudos de las mismas a una velocidad característico de bandas como Marduk, pero con su propio estilo sobretodo en los estribillos y coros usados en cada pieza. De las letras ni se diga de qué temática van: las artes oscuras, el ocultismo, la antireligión y partes de la Biblia. En este disco se encuentran 3 de los himnos de la banda misma y posiblemente del Black Metal más reconocidos por los fans del subgénero, donde plasman con toda su potencia su estilo actualmente reconocido como uno de los mejores del underground. Hoy en día éstas piezas son del agrado de la audiencia que asiste a sus conciertos.

Este trabajo ha sido reeditado varias veces en primer lugar en el mismo año de la publicación la No Fashion Records lo publicó en formato digipak pero en edición limitada. La Necropolis Records laedito en formato vinilo a una edición limitada de 500 copias numeradas a mano. En el 2007 la reeditó la Regain Records en tres formatos uno en cd con 3000 copias, otro en digipak limitada a 1000 copias y en formato vinilo de color negro. La label Century Media la reeditó finalmente en el 2013 en cd.

Espero que éste homenaje a la publicación del primer trabajo de Dark Funeral te haga conseguirlo en cualquiera de sus formatos y reediciones.

"Secrets Of The Black Arts" (Official Video) 

"Shadows Over Transylvania" 

"My Dark Desires" 

Marduk "Opus Nocturne" Osmose Prods (1993)

Era el 1 de diciembre de 1994 cuando se publicó una de las obras más emblemáticas del Black Metal, a cargo de un grupo surgido de la oscuridad sueca y uno de los más emblemáticos de aquel país nórdico, MARDUK lleva por nombre una banda de culto basado en el dios babilónico. Esta gran horda realizó un gran trabajo llamado “Opus Nocturne” en el primer lustro de los años 90´s que permitió posicionarse en todo el continente europeo y mundial como una de las mejores en el subgénero.

El line up que grabó este excelso álbum maligno estuvo a cargo de Joakim Af Gravf en las vocales, B. War en el bajo, Fredrik Andersson en la demoledora batería y el líder y fundador Morgan Håkansson en las guitarras poderosas. Tremenda agrupación que marcó pauta y ser un referente en cuanto al estilo de Black Metal que poseían; sus conciertos de este trabajo según crónicas de la época fueron bastante demoledores.

Todo lo que envuelve esta producción es verdaderamente maligna desde la portada ya te das cuenta que recibirás pura metralla de guitarras y voces blasfemas a la par, sin ninguna contemplación; desde la concepción de este trabajo se buscó ser un gran referente que superara las dos obras anteriores de la banda el “Dark Endles” de 1992 y el “Those Of The Unlight” de 1993. Otros grandes trabajos difíciles de superar pero que sólo Marduk podía hacerlo sin duda con su peculiar estilo.

El track list demuestra que tan alto tenían el listón de las letras basadas en el ocultismo y satanismo:

"The Appearance of Spirits of Darkness"

"Sulphur Souls"

"From Subterranean Throne Profound"

"Autumnal Reaper"

"Materialized in Stone"

"Untrodden Paths (Wolves Part II)"

"Opus Nocturne"

"Deme Quaden Thyrane"

"The Sun Has Failed"

Marduk "Opus Nocturne" era 

Desde la pieza inicial luego del intro llamada “Sulphur Souls” hasta la última pieza llamada “The Sun As Failed” notas el cambio inmediato en este disco de sus anteriores producciones de la banda en comparación con su forma de crear la estructura de las canciones del primer y segundo full-lenght sobretodo en las vocales bastante decentes en las anteriores y ahora con este vocalista que en verdad no demerita el nivel de composición de la banda; Joakim Göthberg Aka “Joakim Af Gravf” (el cual forma parte de varias bandas en activo como Cardinal Sin y Dimension Zero) se esforzó bastante en estos tres discos y donde en cada uno matizó diferente su voz pero en este trabajo “Opus Nocturne” fue donde se encumbró como un gran vocalista en el Black Metal.

La Osmose Productions de Francia demostró cuanta confianza le tenía a la banda al mejorar la producción de esta obra poniendo a su disposición una gran mezcla en cada pieza que elaboró el grupo, los instrumentos suenan poderosos sumados a la voz demoledora que hace presencia en todo momento a lo largo del trabajo. Las siguientes canciones son piezas particularmente excelsas en el estilo del Black Metal que la banda maneja y manejo hasta ciertos discos con este estilo. Por supuesto que este trabajo no sería su obra cumbre pero si se le acercaba bastante.

Estas 3 piezas son del repertorio en directo de la banda sueca hasta en estos años que lo pueden escuchar en sus diversos recopilatorios y en sus DVD´s que hasta la fecha han publicado como el “Blackcrowned” en el 2005, por todo esto aquí reseñado el trabajo publicado en el año 1994 es de los discos infaltables en tu colección de metal underground.

Un disco que por ser trascendental se reedito en 2008 por dos labels diferentes una de Argentina llamada “Del Imaginario Discos” y por la label sueca “Blooddawn Productions” propiedad del guitarrista Hakan Stennmeyer Hakanson, en formato Digipak y por la Regain Records en 2006. En formato Lp la Osmose Productions la editó en 1997 en edición limitada de 500 copias

Links del álbum Marduk "Opus Nocturne". 

"Opus Nocturne"

"Materialized In Stone"

"The Sun Has Failed"