Forgotten Tomb
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Adipocere
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Forgotten Tomb
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Editor's Note:
Forgotten Tomb are among the many talented acts hailing from Italy. Responsible for some fantastically morbid and grim music, the band started as raw black metal and have evolved into suicide/black/doom cross genre evilness. Class this band how you will but their music is amazing nonetheless...
Biography:
Forgotten Tomb arose from the utter darkness of northern Italy in March 1999, when Herr Morbid (Guitars/Vocals/Drum Programming) and Torment (Bass) decided to give birth to a new misanthropic, hateful and cold creature. After some raving rehearsals Torment fell into insanity and he disappeared. Herr Morbid decided to isolate himself from the rest of the world and he wrotes all the material by himself.
During May 1999 the "Obscura Arcana Mortis" MCD was recorded, with H. Morbid playing all the instruments, but it has been released only 1 year later (June 2000), self-produced under Treblinka Prod. and limited to 215 copies. With its occult Misanthropic Sick Black Metal (in the vein of MayheM' "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas") , the MCD started to rape the underground scene and it gained excellent reviews and comments everywhere.
After a certain change of style in the Forgotten Tomb sound, from the raw Misanthropic Sick Black Metal of "Obscura Arcana Mortis" to a more dark, slow, atmospheric, suicidal and depressive approach, the Depressive Dark Black Metal-era started. During December 2000 the recording sessions of the first album started too. In early June 2001 the monumental full-length album, titled "Songs to Leave", was completed. The sound of the album could be described as an amazing mix of Burzum, old Katatonia and Dolorian. The lyrics deal with suicide, depression, self-mutilation, hate and misanthropy, glorifying the everyday misery in a really uncomfortable way, and becoming a strong weapon of suicide-propaganda. A promo-CD was pressed to search an interesting deal and to release "Songs to leave" officially.
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Forgotten Tomb
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In July 2001 Forgotten Tomb signed a deal with the swedish suicide-supporting label Selbstmord Services. The album-release was cursed by many problems but "Songs to Leave" was finally released in the end of August 2002, both on CD and Limited/300 LP on purple vinyl (including poster). The album was immediately hailed by all true suicide-fanatics and it became a self-destruction manifesto for thousands of listeners all around the world. Reactions from media (magazines, fanzines) were absolutely amazing, enthroning Forgotten Tomb as one of the new true revelations of the current Black Metal scene and probably as the only very good band coming from Italy.
During Summer 2002 the ex-SHINING drummer Wedebrand joined the band. The 2nd album, "Springtime Depression", was recorded during January 2003 at the well-known Abyss Studios in Sweden. The style on this album became more grim, cold and suicidal than ever, creating the perfect soundtrack to your nights of self-destruction.
An european-tour is planned for October 2003, as well as the recording-sessions of the third opus (December 2003) In the meantime 2 new members joined the band officially, Razor.SK on guitars and Asher on drums.
Be prepared for something utterly fanatic, suicidal, grim and nocturnal...
More Information: Official Forgotten Tomb Website
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Chalice
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Modern Invasion Music
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Editor's Note:
Chalice a melodic gothic/doom band from Adelade, Australia. The front woman, Shiralee Morgan cascades guitar/flute melodies with heavenly vocals to make some truly emotive music. Powerful, yet peaceful. They create a wonderful, almost surreal melancholy atmosphere and take the listener on a journey into fantasy and imagination.
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Chalice
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The band's third album 'Augmented' is a wonderful collection of haunting melodies and sorrowful songs. The previous two albums were more guitar orientated. Shiralee lists Opeth's 'Blackwater Park' as one of the albums she would take on a desert island and you can definitley hear the opethesque guitar rhythms and melodies on 'Augmented'.
More Information: Official Chalice Website
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Handful of Hate
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Code 666
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Handful of Hate
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Editor's Note:
I first heard Handful Of Hate on a cd-r compilation in the 'Black Tears Of Death' series that I purchased for a couple of quid. The quality of this cd is fucking appaling, fucking cheap and nasty. Its only saving grace is the fact that it showcases some great bands. H.O.H. were one of these. The acts on the compilation are predominantly Italian and along with talented others such as Forgotten Tomb and Frostmoon Eclipse, it gives you an idea of the potential the Italian b.m. has. H.O.H. have moved on these days, and now have a clearer but more powerful heavy sound and makes for some compelling listening.
Biography:
Born on 1993 in Italy, HANDFUL OF HATE are and will always be under the flag of the Black arts. A lot of line-up changes during the years have slowed down the band's life but anyway HANDFUL OF HATE gave the world the first proof of existence with the "Goetia Summa" demo (1994), a tape shortly after became a pure living Kult release. HANDFUL OF HATE started playing live supporting this tape and after a lot of successful great shows on northern Italy, the first deal to release an album arrived on 1996. "Qliphothic Supremacy" (1997) it's the first Black opera of Supreme Occult Black-Metal Art. The band supported the release with a lot of national shows all over the country. On 1999 the band released the second attack under the name of "Hierarchy 1999". This last one piece of vengeance upon mankind shows a different face of HANDFUL OF HATE, a more violent, faster and evil one that could be described as Infernal Brutal and Fast Black-Metal, lyrically influenced by Fetish-Sexual-Carnal concepts. Lots of great shows and interest through media make of HANDFUL OF HATE, one of the most extreme, discussed and supported band of Italy. A Swedish label called Downfall Records, released on 2001 the "Death From Above" 7”-ep, containing two tracks of pure extreme violence.
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Hanful of Hate
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On October 2002 the band signed a deal with Code7 Management, just to promote the band throughout the whole European countries with a two tracks promo, recorded on January 2002. The new stuff is absolutely skilled and comes with a very clean and powerful production... the best HANDFUL OF HATE’s stuff ever. One of the two tracks coming from this last promo, has been included on the long awaited “Better Undead Than Alive” Double-Compilation CD vol.1, spawned by Code666 Records on January 2003. The release comes with a very elegant artwork including a multimedia track containing bio, photos and infos about the band itself. “Better Undead Than Alive” contains just exclusive tracks never published by the bands elsewhere. On October 2002 the band signed an agreement with Code666 Records to release the long awaited and delayed third official full-length album. This new opera came out in October 2003 and it's called “Vicecrown”. A lot of time has passed and a lot of members have been replaced during these hard years but as the phoenix reborns from the ashes showing the world a new life and courage, HANDFUL OF HATE once again shown everyone a new extreme face and a new powerful attitude. The band's influences are now moving towards Black-Death-Metal fields, so the band preferred to define itself simply using the term "Carnal-Black-Metal", a brutal blast of skilled cutting razor violence machine! In November 2003 Warlord Records finally unleashed the long awaited "Scorn And Conquest" 7"-EP containing the last unreleased song coming from the "promo 2002" plus an Impaled Nazarene cover ("The Horny And The Horned"), recorded in April 2003 just for this release.
More Information: Official Handful of Hate Website
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Centinex
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Candlelight
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Centinex
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Centinex
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Editor's Note:
Centinex, hailing from Sweden, are Candlelight's saviour. Dirty, fuzzy guitars back up an awesome death grunt.
Excellent riff build-ups and brilliant chorus sections, almost catchy in a way.
The band recorded their new album, titled "Decadence - Prophecies of Cosmic Chaos", during the summer. The album will be released in early 2004 through Candlelight Records.
More Information: Official Centinex Website
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Theatres Des Vampires
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Blackend
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Theatres Des Vampires
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Editor's Note:
Amidst all the cross-genre madness that plagues the metal world these days, through the mist shine a band known as Theatres Des Vampires. Named after the theatrical group of vampires from Paris in Anne Rice's 'Interview With The Vampire'.
Biography:
Theatres Des Vampires crept towards darkness during the period known to mortal beings as 1994 A.D emerging from the sole battle of an immortal being known as Lord Vampyr who had been experiencing the forbidden arts since 1989 in deadly pacts with other creatures of the underworld.
Short periods of time pass, and Lord Vampyr signs a blood pact with various dark individuals, the result of this came around March of 1995 A.D. under the form of a promo tape entitled "Nosferatu, eine simphonie des grauens".
This tape was highly lusted after and all copies of it were quickly sold out.
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Theatres Des Vampires
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December 1995 A.D. sees the band once more in the dungeons, in the process of recording their new scars. Problems arose however, and the drummer left after one day of recording, eventually leading to the other members giving up their immortality, thus leaving the doom of the human race in the sole hands of Lord Vampyr once more, which sees "Vampyrìsme, nècrophilie, nècrosadisme, nècrophagie" as a result.
Now in 2003, after great albums released ("The Vampire Chronicles", "Bloody Lunatic Asylum", "Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001", "Suicide Vampire") and tons of tours around, this release is again available with a new title
“Vampyrìsme…”, totally replayed by the actual line-up, with a new graphic and bonus track. Featuring also Gian Pyras (ex-Cradle of Filth, now in Christian Death and Extreme Noise Terror) and Valor (Christian Death)!!!
More Information: Official Theatres Des Vampires Website
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Corporation 187
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Wicked World
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Corporation 187
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Editor's Note:
Wicked World, a side branch of Earache, are on to some good acts. Decapitated and Anata are putting out some ass-kicking records. Another ensign are Corporation 187. You'd think hailing from Sweden and playing thrash they would be instantly pidgeonholed and branded another At The Gates/Haunted rip-off. Look closer and you'll find some invigorating music and a new breed of thrash, aggro-thrash if you will, that is heavier and more charged. Whatever you want to define C187 as, they still deliver the goods...
Biography:
Hailing from Linkoping in Sweden, Corporation 187 might have been expected to follow the traditional Swedish path and form a melodic death metal band like so many of their contemporaries. However, guitarist Magnus Pettersson, fellow axe-meister Olof Knuttsson and drummer Robert Eng came together in the early 90's via a love for all things thrash, and especially the thrash band to end all thrash bands, Slayer.
In homage to their heroes the three friends initially started out as a Slayer cover band in 1995 recruiting Pelle Severin on vocals and Filip Carlsson on bass. Though Filip would eventually quit the line up he would return later in the band's story.
After playing around Sweden as a Slayer tribute, the band members began to have grander ideas than just copying their heroes - therefore at the beginning of 1998 Corporation 187 was born, incorporating the nucleus of Magnus, Olof and , adding Pelle as a vocalist a few months later. With a mission to play the kind of speed and thrash metal they loved so much, the band set about constructing a sound that whilst respected and reflected their influences, also sounded up to date and contemporary enough to please newer and younger listeners. Although melodics were incorporated, Corporation 187 were never interested in being part of the In Flames cloning that produced a mass of similar sounding bands from Scandinavia - instead the key elements were high tempos and chunky riffs, overlaid with a powerful production.
By the summer of 1998 Corporation 187 had recorded their "promo 98" demo, incorporting three tracks of proto-thrash, immediately distancing themselves from the melodic Death Metal scene. With a bass player still to be permannetly added to the line up, Magnus played bass on the recording. The demo was widely circulated and the band introduced themselves to a live audience during this period. BY the beginning of 1999 Wicked World had signed the band and preparations began for the recording of the debut album.
Adding bassist Johan Ekström in the spring of 1999,
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Corporation 187
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a man who had previously made his name with underground heroes Seance, the Corporation 187 line up was finally completed. In the summer the band found themselves dividing their recording time between Studio Underground and Studio Helltower, and emerging with the resulting 'Subliminal Fear' album, unleashing this piece of sonic barbarity in February 2000.
'Subliminal Fear' proved an exercise in precision modern-day thrash and earned them comparisons with the likes of The Haunted, Carnal Forge, Dew Scented and of course Slayer. Short, sharp shocks such as 'Caught Inside Your Mind' and 'Hypnotic Illusion' proved that the bands songwriting was up their with the best of them. Reception to the labum was good and led to the band's first shows outside of Sweden with label-mates Decapitated and grind super-group Lock Up around the UK in August 2000.
On their return home vocalist Pelle quit the band, and he was replaced by Satanic Slaughter's Filip Carlsson (the very same man who had played bass in the Slayer cover band days). New vocalist in tow Corporation 187 toured Germany and Holland in April 2002 with Lord Belial and Satanic Slaughter as they geared up for the recording of their second album. Returning from Europe bassist Johan was replaced by Viktor Klint.
July and August 2002 saw the recording of "Perfection in Pain", again utilising Studio Underground and Studio Helltower for recording, and this time enlisting Peter Tägtgren and Abyss Studios.
More Information: Official Corporation 187 Website
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Sargeist
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Moribund Cult
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Sargeist
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Biography:Sargeist was born during the summer of diabolical holocaust 1999 as a clandestine solo project of Shatraug. First offering was captured at the Ruins of Cachtice entirely performed by Shatraug himself. In the year 2000 Lord Volos, the ex-drummer of BLUTRACHE, joined Shatraug and the first ritual was re-assembled. Both manifestations were released on Shatraug´s label Warmoon Records in a limited edition of 111 copies.
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Sargeist
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In 2001 Sargeist was enforced with Gorsedd Marter and Makha Karn, both of them later turning out traitors… With this line-up the "Tyranny Returns" tape LP saw it´s ignition and creation, at the Ruins of Cachtice again, and led everything towards the union assembled of the brotherhood that had formed with Shatraug and Torog. In late 2001 Moribund Cult signed Sargeist to curse this world with their depression. It was soon to be learned that Sargeist stand timeless, entering the Heinous Path with full-hearted and soul-woven art.
In 2002 Sargeist recorded and released the songs "Reaping With Curses & Plague", "The Rebirth of a Cursed Existence" and a re-recording of "Sinister Glow of the Funeral Torches" on
a split 7"EP with French terrorists, and label mates, MERRIMACK and two compilations out on Woodcut Records ("Jatkosota" compilation CD) and Black Arts Productions ("…And Jesus Wept" compilation tape).
Although the material was ready since 2001 it took until February 2003 that Sargeist had finished the recordings for their debut CD release "Satanic Black Devotion". With this album we have set up a course returning to misery & comfort…
More Information: None Available at this Time
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Summon
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Moribund Cult
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Summon
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Biography:Summon was formed in the spring of 1991 with the intent of creating extreme, brutal metal with influences like Bathory, Venom, Blasphemy, Beherit, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Celtic Frost, etc. By mid-1991, Summon began to perform live and managed to record a 4-track basement demo entitled Devourer of Souls (no longer available), but the band split up before it was released.
It would not be until 1995, after failed attempts with other efforts, that Summon would be exhumed from its shallow grave. By the winter of 1995, Summon recorded their first true demo entitled Fire Turns Everything...Black. In the summer of 1996 they recorded a demo CD Dark Descent of Fallen Souls (limited to 1000 copies).
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Summon
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Much of 1997 and 1998 the band played numerous shows across the US, and continued to gain speed and velocity behind their already destructive sound.
By 1999 Summon created a full-length release that finally captured the extreme chaos they had always envisioned, Baptized by Fire [April 2000 on Baphomet/Necropolis Records]. It devastates all in its path without mercy!
Summon are currently writing new material and preparing to tour Europe as well as the United States. Summon strive to stay uncorrupted by a scene littered with idiot savants and fantasy dictators, and by staying true to their love of extreme brutal metal...The future is infinite!
More Information: Official Summon Website
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Mistress
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Rage of Achilles
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Mistress
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Mistress
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