Gottlos

Gottlos - Infernal Pandemonia
Eclipse Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

1. Glorious Conquest
2. Mystis
3. A Nocturnal Monologue
4. Kytheria (Astral in the Midnight)
5. The Witches of Symposium
6. Wrath of Katachthonium
7. Mesíášův Konec (Maniac Butcher cover)








Gottlos is another project somewhat related to Maniac Butcher that has probably been rather lost to the ages of time. I bought this CD around when it was first released and I think I listened to it once or twice back then and now we're in 2018 seeing if this holds up to the test of time. The music is composed by Greek musician Skylepthis and Barbarud Hrom from Maniac Butcher provided the vocal accompaniment.

Being related to Maniac Butcher I expect some degree of rawness and that's pretty much what we get with the first Gottlos release. The music isn't too bad, however, it is quite monotonous, which is probably the intention. Each songs has, perhaps, two to three riffs, if that. "Mystis" feels like it is only a single riff played for a few minutes. The major problem here is that while other bands like Gorgoroth and Horna have done a decent job with this approach Gottlos doesn't succeed in the same fashion. The riffing mostly feels okay with a few gems shining through here and there, such as the opening to "A Nocturnal Monologue" and there's even another riff in there that sounds quite good. The major problem and reason this winds up sounding so mind-numbing compared to other bands is there are no drum fills, except for one during the middle of "A Nocturnal Monologue". Skyleptis barely gives treatment to the rest of the drum set beyond snare, kick, and hi-hat. The beats rarely vary beyond a blast beat. The moments that do vary really stand out in a big way, because it's so weird amidst such over simplicity. The album closes with a Maniac Butcher cover and its a stark contrast because there are drum fills... so it's not that Skylepthis can't do them, he's choosing not to, which just make the overall release a bit more questionable in its drum arrangements. In fact, it almost seems like Skylepthis is learning drums as he is making this album, because the variation and complexity of the drum beats increases as the album progresses.

In the end, I'm not sure this was supposed to have more releases, but this wound up being a Black Metal one-off. While some of the riffing was enjoyable, the mind-numbing drum performance kind of killed the release for me. It really doesn't hold up well over time and I can't remember if I liked it a lot when it was first released. I can see why I forgot about the album over the years, because it didn't over enough memorable music for me to return to over and over. If you like incredibly simplistic Black Metal then you might find the lack of arrangements to be a feature.

Nhaavah

Nhaavah - Nhaavah
Unisound Records, 2002
Genre: Black Metal

Kings of Czech Black Metal
1. Death
2. I am Satan, I am God
3. Hate
4. Xenophobia
5. The Law
6. War
7. Nhaavah
Determination, Detestation, Devastation:
8. Determination of Life
9. Detestation of Humanity
10. Devastation of Church



Nhaavah is yet another side project of Vlad Blasphemer, this time only with Maniac Butcher's vocalist Barbarud Hrom. If you missed out on their only two releases, this self titled release compiles everything Nhaavah have ever done for the first time on CD. It was a fairly short lived project and seems more focused on playing fast than playing for anything else. This has one of the most ridiculous booklets I've ever seen, all the information and lyrics are crammed onto the very last panel and when you open the booklet it's just black inside. Probably one of the worst layout designs around.

If you're unfamiliar with Nhaavah you'll be surprised to see how short the songs are and how fast this album cranks through everything. This is almost akin to Black Grind, given the ridiculous speed with which the drums are programmed. Even though there are bands out there that can play this fast, it sounds ridiculous with the programmed drums, because the ride cymbal doesn't sound real so it's just some strange clicking noise. It's not constant speed, songs like "Hate" have lengthy sections that slow down, but most of it is pretty fast and a lot of the songs are around two minutes in length.

Maybe Nhaavah has more substance if your into more of the Grind style than I am, but Nhaavah is one of their projects that doesn't really have much for me. It might have a few moments where the riffs are pretty good, but it's very short lived. Nhaavah isn't trying to construct a Black Metal atmosphere, I think they're just trying to assault our senses with blisteringly fast music, it doesn't really matter if the riff is good or makes sense.

Nhaavah & Katharsis Split
Sombre Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Nhaavah:
1. Detremination of Life
2. Detestation of Humanity
3. Devastation of Church
Katharsis:
4. Raid of Destruction (The Ninth Age)
5. I... Am... Redeemer








Side Katharsis: here
Side Nhaavah:

While I had heard both Nhaavah and Katharsis, I'll be honest, the reason I bought this was for Katharsis. This is Nhaavah's second release, the first being their only demo tape. Here they have a split 7" with one of Germany's finest. This is on the legendary Sombre Records and limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #480.

The material on this split basically picks up where "Kings of Czech Black Metal" left off. The production is a little more clear, but that's about it. We still have the same blisteringly fast Black Metal played in under two minutes. The only reason the first song breaks the two minute mark is because there is an ambient styled intro. The insert of the 7" describes the music as "Raw War Black Metal" and I'd have to say that fits. It's almost as if this is what Marduk is trying to achieve sometimes, but they can only play so fast and they're a little more reasonable with adding memorable riffs into the mix.

Either way, Nhaavah certainly isn't for everyone and this project was fairly short lived. Focus on Maniac Butcher makes way more sense for these two musicians, in my opinion.  I sort of imagine Vlad mainly fooling around with this saying "see, we can play ultra fast too!" as a response for all the speed based projects that were coming out in the late 90's.

Grondhaat

Grondhaat - Humanity: The Flesh for Satan's Pigs
Ketzer Records, 2011
Genre: Black Metal

1. Fucking Slaves
2. Humanity: The Flesh for Satan's Pigs
3. The Last Dawn of Human Race
4. The Gate of Nanna (Beherit Cover)
5. Incantations of Dark Gates
6. The Blackest Blasphemy
7. All Bullets of War








I think this was a somewhat random purchase for me. A couple of my motivators was the fact that I really like Czech Black Metal and I think I noticed that Asura was a member of Trollech, and having a Lord Morbivod connection is never bad in my books. So, I picked this up not really knowing what to expect. What we got was a little mixed, but some decent tracks of traditional Black Metal.

The first three tracks are filled with wonderful guitar work done in the usual Czech fashion, drawing influence from the likes of Maniac Butcher and, naturally, Stiny Plamenu and Trollech. There are times that the work has a fairly Finnish feel to it at times. I guess the Beherit cover should come as no surprise then! The only complaint I have during this material is the vocal performance, which isn't particularly great, but it's not terrible either. The part that makes it a bit off putting is the fact that the vocals are very loud in the mix. They really overtake the music and Asura feels like doing the Arioch thing where he fills as much space as possible with vocals. It's quite unfortunate, because the music underneath is extremely good. Then for some reason "The Last Dawn of Human Race" has a very distinct Darkthrone influence, which feels very out of place with the previous guitar work. I think it even bears a resemblance to the more modern Darkthrone, which I, personally, don't like at all. It's fine if these musicians like that, but the placement feels very off putting after the prior three tracks.

This section sort of marks a turning point for the album and we delve deeper down that slow plodding Darkthrone hole, granted in a far more traditional Black Metal fashion like their middle career. There is attempt at infusing groove/catchiness into sections, but much of these slow sections seem to fall into Beherit fashioned writing, but not as much of a mess as the original. If you enjoy that Beherit and Darkthrone blend, you may find far more enjoyment out of this release than I did towards the end.

I just feel like I've sort of been lead astray from the beginning. What started off as some Black Metal I truly love ended up transforming into a totally different style of Black Metal towards the end. I can understand being influenced by multiple things, but with such stark differences and a clear line where it shifts this winds up feeling like two musical projects shoved together. Still, I'm sure there is a fanbase for the latter half of the album, it's just not me, because Grondhaat have certainly performed that style quite well. The only overarching complaint through all the tracks is the vocals need to be turned down.

Sezarbil

Sezarbil - The Unknown Empire
Leviathan Records, 2000
Genre: Black Metal

1. Pagan's Wind
2. The Last Battle
3. Attack of Darkness
4. Prophetical Darkening...
5. The Curse of Painful Reality
6. Immortality Part II
7. The Unknown Empire
8. The Arrival of Lords of War
9. Wails of the Night
10. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)





This is Sezarbil's debut full length and after hearing their material on the three way split, I wasn't too excited about what they might have to offer. This release seems pretty difficult to find these days, so I guess I'm lucky to have found a copy of it. I do like the cover and album layout that goes with this project, but the music just isn't for me.

Sezarbil bring us another, mediocre performance, for lack of a better term. I don't think "The Unknown Empire" is outright a terrible release, nor do I think it is particularly stellar. I actually have a very neutral feel for most of this release. "The Last Battle" is a sort of more melancholic approach to Black Metal. It has lots of clean sections, relatively slow metal aspects all designed to build a sort of "dark" atmosphere. The problem is that it doesn't quite do that for me and there's nothing that really pulls me into the material. The next song is totally different with "Attack of Darkness", which has an excellent riff that hooks the listener in, but it really is just the one riff that works. Other parts of the song don't do anything for me, but that catchy riff is quite well done. The drastic change in song structuring is rather jarring, but in this case I welcome it because the opening track didn't set a very good stage for me. The rest of the songs seem to be more of a typical Black Metal approach, sometimes delving into something similar to "The Last Battle."

In the end there was just nothing that captured me on this recording. A lot of the Black Metal is highly derivative of the typical stuff being performed in the late '90s. I don't think it's done particular well, or else the derivative nature wouldn't bother me much and I would still garner some enjoyment. Right now Sezarbil are a band that just aren't performing a style that truly interests me.

Maniac Butcher/Sezarbil/Inferno - Proti Všem...
Pussy God Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Maniac Butcher:
1. Metal from Hell
Sezarbil: Temný Sen
2. Varování
3. Temný Sen
4. Příprava K Boji
5. Zničení Církve Svaté
6. Immortality
Inferno: Chrám Nenávisti
7. Intro: V Prach A Popel Vše Obráceno Jest / Krev
8. Krajina Zasvěcená Ďáblu
9. Vládce Hor
10. Chrám Nenávisti / Outro: Dovršení Křesťanské Zkázy

Side Maniac Butcher: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno: here

Sezarbil is another band where I give up on finding their demo material in any form. So we begin here with their three-way split limited to 666 copies of which I own #483. After finally sitting down to listen to the Sezarbil side (I honestly have tons of material I've owned for years, but never listened to), I'm glad I'm listening to this now after I've purchased their later full-lengths. I figured doing a split with Maniac Butcher and Inferno put your music on a higher caliber level, but I did not find the Sezarbil side of this very compelling.

Sezarbil play a rather odd form of Black Metal to me. They try to blend a very slow and plodding arrangement with some faster parts thrown in once and a while. Sometimes this can really work if the Black Metal is heavily atmospheric or haunting, but Sezarbil's approach is kind of dry and thin. It reminds me a little bit of what Maniac Butcher was performing on their demo material, but those were a very long time ago and recasting that approach with a modern band does not age well. Some parts are alright, but for the most part I found the music rather dry. "Zničení Církve Svaté" has a fairly catchy riffing sequence and is probably the most stand out track on their part of the split. Sezarbil close with a rawly recorded instrumental called "Immortality" originally recorded around 1996.

I have no idea where Sezarbil is heading from here, except that I've sampled their later releases and they were quite different and much better. I can sort of see why this material was never in high demand for a re-release. We'll see what Sezarbil do for their debut full length. For now, this music just didn't grab me.

Cult of Fire

Cult of Fire - मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान
Iron Bonehead Productions, 2013
Genre: Black Metal

1. संहार रक्त काली
2. अस्तित्व की चिता पर
3. अस्तित्व की चिता पर
4. काली मां
5. मृत्यु ही सत्य है
6. मृत्यु का वीभत्स नृत्य
7. खण्ड मण्ड योग
8. दिव्य प्रेम की ज्वाला से दग्ध







After hearing "Triumvirát" I was pretty eager to hear new output from this band and here we have it! The new album features a beautiful cover painting of the goddess Kali, which lead me to think there would either be some Occult Black Metal influence or Hindu influence. The fact that all the titles are written in Sanskrit clearly pointed towards more of the Hindu, rather than the usual Swedish brand of death worship.

The opening track really helps set the atmosphere for that sort of cultural and Indian vibe to the music. I was sort of expecting to have more of a blend like you would find with Rudra, but I'm not sure they really achieved a perfect blend. This is a really ambitious work and it may take them a few albums to blend that Czech intensity with more atmospheric elements. When they nail it, it works perfectly, but it's somewhat inconsistent. It's more consistent this time around than before and there isn't any song on here that I would say is bad, because it's really spectacular Black Metal at the end of the day and I will definitely listen to this album regularly. However, as a critic, I'm voicing the one complaint I had for an otherwise flawless performance from this group. If they keep building on this style they will really achieve some great albums in the future, the only other band in their area that seems to be really focusing on this is Inferno with their album "Omniabscene." But if I remember that album correctly, it doesn't have nearly the same level of vicious impact Cult of Fire does, instead they go fully into building atmosphere, which is great. I would love to see if Cult of Fire can bring that viciousness of the Czech scene to atmospheric elements all at once, I think this is an immense challenge, but Cult of Fire is the only one nearly getting it truly perfect.

I should also make it a point to discuss the art direction of this album. It's really quite interesting and there is a full booklet that comes with a lot of art. I'm sure it is heavily influenced by the Hindu religion and there is much in there that caters towards all kinds of imagery for death worship. Infernal Vlad has stated that he read books, contacted people from India, and essentially immersed himself in the culture and religion of Kali. I think from this point of view Cult of Fire truly did capture the concept behind this. I dare say it is a lot more evocative than Dissection's approach with "Reinkaos" and the way other Swedish bands seem to approach this topic. I feel Cult of Fire truly captures the intended cultural references and celebrates a level of diversity that is usually not around in these bands. A lot of bands just put their own twist to the legends or invoke names because of some Occult writer, and it seems Cult of Fire went to the source of the legends and took their influence from their. The end result is an album that feels very genuine with an atmosphere that builds around this terror and joy in recognition of the Goddess Kali.

Again, a highly recommended album of 2013. If this doesn't hit my top ten, then it will definitely hit my honorable mentions, because their ideas are genuinely very good and the music is honestly very good as well, I just think Cult of Fire can tweak their sound a little bit more to really nail a level of perfection. Once they hit that level, I think the project will stand as a unique sounding voice in the Black Metal genre. In the end, this is certainly a must buy album at the very least!

Cult of Fire - Triumvirát
Demonhood Productions, 2012
Genre: Black Metal

1. Závěť Světu
2. Satan Mentor
3. Černá Aura
4. Horizont Temnoty
5. Z Jícnů Propastí
6. Sluhové Věčného
7. Triumvirát
8. Návrat Zářného Zla
9. Bytosti Z Prázdnoty







Given my love for Czech Black Metal, I'm actually surprised it took me over a year to hear of this band from when they put this out. I only started hearing about them when a new release was imminent for 2013. Not to mention they have a rather prolific line-up for this project featuring members of Dark Storm, Maniac Butcher, with Tom Coroner on drums who seems to have played in a large portion of the Czech Metal scene in general! So, given this class of musicians it's almost unsurprising to hear an incredibly high quality performance.

Cult of Fire started off with releasing two songs on a 10" vinyl in 2011, but since both songs show up on this CD, I've decided to just start off reviewing this. "Triumvirát" marks the first full length effort from this group and it is an incredible album. It really puts together a wonderful balance of intensity and atmosphere. Some tracks like "Satan Mentor" actually remind me of some of the great bands hailing out of Quebec, Canada. Given that atmospheric influence married with the usual Czech intensity actually makes for a strangely unique listen. They keep this blend going for pretty much the entire album, and it is a very good listen overall, but some tracks are certainly stronger than others. The album closes with the title track which is one of the more atmospheric songs on this album and a truly beautiful ending to this impressive debut.

As a bonus the last two tracks are from 2011's "20:11" vinyl release.  This EP was apparently inspired by the disaster at Chernobyl and was released on the day of it's 25th anniversary. The music is more typical for what you'd expect for a Black Metal band. The music is certainly solid and very well done, but you can tell that "Triumvirát" is by far the more mature and well developed aspect of their music. I think they had a good idea of what they were going to go for in terms of the music, but didn't start locking down the real essence until 2012. In "Návrat Zářného Zla" there is a middle section that slows down with just tortured screaming and I imagine this goes with the screaming of dying people in the Power Plant. However, the atmospheric break is brief, before we return to the usual Black Metal performance. They really managed to blend these styles together much more seamless with the full length.

This is definitely a band to be watching in the future, I expect to hear fairly incredible things from this group. I love the imagery for this group as well. If you find pictures of this bands live sets you will be pleasantly surprised. The track listing on this album is written in the Theban alphabet and gives the album a very "cult" aesthetic. This is one of the better new bands recently formed, so definitely give them a listen.

Dark Storm

Dark Storm - Hell Satan Blasphemy
Ashen Productions, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

1. Pentagram
2. Satanic Legion
3. Armageddon Descent
4. Hymn to Hell
5. Summon the Infernal Lord
6. Salvation 666
7. Warriors of Domination








This is, sadly, Dark Storm's final release. Vlad Blasphemer tragically died at the age of 41 in 2015, which certainly put an end to this project. I'm not entirely sure if there was another Dark Storm album coming, because the project was totally silent in the years up until his death. "Hell Satan Blasphemy" also has a strange circumstance involving its release. This material was actually recorded prior to "Infernal Tyrant" so it has a more raw feel to the recording. This stuff was recorded all the way back in 2003 and it didn't see the light of day until now.

The interesting thing concerning these two releases is how different they can sound. "Infernal Tyrant" has a lot more groove infused riffing than "Hell Satan Blasphemy". This album certainly has its catchy sections, but I think this album is a lot more straight forward, which has the effect of it hitting harder than "Infernal Tyrant" in a lot of ways. Until we get to the song "Hymn to Hell", which has a clear Mayhem influence, but it's a far slower tune than the rest of the album. This album is mostly an intense album with the band blasting through every track, but somehow they manage to keep it interesting and vary everything up enough to keep it interesting. It's got everything you'd want in a traditional Black Metal atmosphere, so as with "Infernal Tyrant", many will cry "generic", but I still enjoyed the album. It's hard to not enjoy good riffs even if it's all similar to things you've heard from other bands.

So, if you're looking for a band that captures the spirit of the old days perfectly with more modern production values then Dark Storm do a stellar job of bringing you exactly that atmosphere. It's vicious, violent, and fast, but that's everything I want out of a straight forward Black Metal project and there's little more I could ask for. Even though this material was composed and recorded before "Infernal Tyrant" I think I actually enjoy it more. "Hell Satan Blasphemy" just feels like a much more intense journey.

Dark Storm - Infernal Tyrant
Agonia Records, 2005
Genre: Black Metal

1. For Throne
2. Wrath of Satan
3. Sons of Apocalypse
4. Prince's Seam
5. Triumph of Horned Beast
6. Infernal Tyrant
7. Return of His Majesty
8. Black Satanic Propaganda








Out of nowhere Dark Storm got picked up by Agonia Records and started releasing some of the best material they've ever made. "Infernal Tyrant" is where this band starts to really take off for me. This is also the most stable the line-up has ever been, so that may have been a contributing factor.

I think Blasphemer has done a good job this time around of not making this project sound too similar to Maniac Butcher. "Infernal Tyrant" sounds like it has its own overall sound and while the only thing most people will complain about is that is might sound "generic", but I don't care about that when it sounds quite good. "Infernal Tyrant" is a straight forward Black Metal album played in the vein of Darkthrone meets Dark Funeral. The real problem is that even though I think they did a great job on this with a lot of killer songs, it's still been done by countless other bands already. I think that's where Dark Storm sort of got lost in the release race. I could see a lot of people passing this up for whatever new thing came out in the year this was released. Personally, I'm glad I picked this up when it came out and while I may not have this in constant rotation, whenever I do put the album on I certainly enjoy it for what it is.

So if you like your Black Metal infused with a dose of old school groovier riffing amidst the punishing blast sections, then "Infernal  Tyrant" might find a place in your collection. Sure, it may not be revolutionary, but if you like your Black Metal traditional sounding and well written, then this album will not be a waste of your time.

Dark Storm - The Early Years
Unisound Records, 2002
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Trial with All Gods
3. Emperor's Vengeance
4. Vatican in Flames
5. Svata Krev
6. The Shedding of Holy Blood
7. War
8. Victory
9. The Rebirth
10. Dark Storm
11. Satan has Already Risen
12. In Nomine



If you missed out on the earliest Dark Storm recordings and are a real big fan of the project then this compilation is definitely something worth checking out. This compilation covers the first three releases from Dark Storm up to "Four Lučan Emperors", but the tracks go in reverse order of when the stuff was released.

It's kind of funny listening to this right after the split with Apolokia and realizing how much better the new line-up is. "The Early Years" aren't bad, but the project has certainly come a long way in its song writing prowess. The only thing really missing from a compilation like this is the two tapes "Arrival of the Evil" and "Possessed by Satan". I really wish they had included these on here, because it would have been nice to have those pressed to CD in some fashion. But those were more recent releases, so maybe the band didn't think they would fit. I sort of wonder if there's been some type of remastering of these songs, because they sound much more powerful than their original versions. The first demo is still kind of terrible though... which is all the more reason I wish the last two demo tapes were put onto CD.

Either way you look at it, it's nice to have some of these put onto CD and hear the early days of Dark Storm, because they sounded quite different years ago. They started off as overly simplistic and primitive Black Metal and have come quite a long way to their split with Apolokia, but this is a common journey for many Black Metal bands out there. Nonetheless, it's still fun to take this journey every now and again as a listener.

Apolokia & Dark Storm Split
Sombre Records, 2001
Genre: Black Metal

Apolokia: In Ceremonial Circles
1. Infinite Warscream
2. Cemetary Shrines
3. Thy Eye and Claw of Evil
4.In Ceremonial Circles
Dark Storm: Kult Satan
5. Kult Satan
6. Infernal Desecration
7. Eternal Flame of Hell
8. Thy Unholy Light
9. In the Sign of Blasphemy




Side Apolokia: ...coming eventually...
Side Dark Storm:

Dark Storm return to official printings with this 12" vinyl split with the excellent Apolokia. This is pressed by the legendary Sombre Records and probably one of their last releases. It's limited to 350 copies. As with all Dark Storm releases, we have some major line-up changes once again. This time Vlad has given up the drum throne to return to guitars and hands it over to their new drummer Butcher. Vlad did a good job on drums but it is clear that Butcher is a far more skilled musician behind this instrument.

For me this is where Dark Storm really begins to take off. The songs feel so much more cohesive and intense. They also sound quite a bit different from Maniac Butcher. I mean the guitar tone and such is still pretty similar, but the overall feel is a bit different. Dark Storm manage to create some wonderful dark and vicious intensity in their approach to Black Metal. The recording quality, while much better, still manages to have that excellent balance between sounding raw and primitive while still having all the instruments present in the mix. This is an extremely good split with solid performance by both bands and anyone who was able to snag a copy of this is quite lucky.

Dark Storm - Possessed by Satan
Black Bunker, 2000
Genre: Black Metal

1. Possessed by Satan
2. I am Black Emperor
3. Sacrifice in the Name of Fire
4. Last Day of Light
5. Ritual
6. War with Heaven (Total Black Version) (Törr cover)
7. Praise the Satan
8. Infernal Desire








It's actually been a few years since we've heard from Dark Storm and they're still working in the realms of the demo days. As with "Arrival of the Evil" this demo was originally self-released limited to 500 copies, but I have the re-release from Black Bunker with pro-printed cover limited to 100 hand-numbered copies of which I have #44.

Also, as with all the other Dark Storm releases there have been some line-up changes, which actually makes a bit of sense given the time span between releases. In this case though Devilish and Vlad have stuck around and they worked with a new guitarist called Lord Storm. Despite the new guitarist it still lists all music by Vlad, so who knows how much musical input this guitarist had. This demo still sounds quite a bit different from the other releases even if Vlad did compose the music. It still favors the tremolo picked riffs very heavily, but it doesn't have the catchier sections of "Arrival of Evil". This is more of a straight forward fast Black Metal composition similar to Maniac Butcher, but some of the riffs feel a bit more somber than what we normally hear from that project. Dark Storm seems to work through this stuff really fast though this demo was recorded and mixed in a mere 12 hours.

Now that Dark Storm has put out some new material, I wonder if we will hear from them more often as we did when the project first started. I assume Maniac Butcher is taking up a lot of Vlad's time as that project has always been very prolific in releasing material since it first began. It seems like Dark Storm also has trouble keeping a solid line-up, so hopefully a more stable version of this project will appear.

Dark Storm - Arrival of the Evil
Black Bunker, 1997
Genre: Black Metal

1. Arrival of the Evil
2. Kingdom of the Blind
3. Gate of Hell
4. Remains of Christian Places
5. I am God
6. In Nomine Satanas
7. Deathcrush (Mayhem cover)









After the "Four Lučan Emperors" I was surprised to see Dark Storm return to the demo days. This was originally self released in 1997, but I have a later repress by Black Bunker which has a pro-printed cover and layout. The first tape was limited to 500 copies, but this edition is limited to 100 hand-numbered copies and I own #35.

Dark Storm has gone through a massive line-up change since the last release. The only remaining original member is Vlad on the drums. Here we have a new vocalist, guitarist, and bassist. I assume Barbarud Hrom wanted to focus on Maniac Butcher for the most part, so here we have Devilish take over and he sounds somewhat similar. He favors the shrieking style of Black Metal vocals that Barbarud is well known for. With a new guitarist and bassist I'm surprised how similar it still sounds to Maniac Butcher, however there are moments that make this distinctly different such as in the song "Gate of Hell". That song has a lot more groove than I remember Maniac Butcher material having. So, it's good to see some general differentiation between the two projects. With the prior EP there was probably just too much overlap between the projects, so it was hard for anything to stand out as being different.

This is a cool little demo showcasing the new line-up for about 20 minutes. They even included a re-recorded version of the early song "In Nomine Satanas" and with this tone and drum arrangement it sounds way more Black Metal. The close the album with a classic cover of Mayhem's "Deathcrush", which sounds great amidst this very primitive production. If you're a fan of these kinds of old school sounding Black Metal then it's worth tracking down this demo if you can get your hands on it.

Dark Storm - Four Lučan Emperors
View Beyond Records, 1996
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Trial with All Gods
3. Emperors' Vengeance
4. Vatican in Flames
5. Svatá krev
6. The Shedding of Holy Blood










This is Dark Storm's first release on CD and I actually wound up having the cassette version of this release. Someday I'll probably go and track down the CD format, which is the format I tend to prefer. As usual, with old releases like this I'm sure there's a limitation that existed, but nothing is listed in the booklet.

After hearing the split with Maniac Butcher I was looking forward to the more Black Metal style of Dark Storm. It's interesting to note that Vlad didn't play guitar on this recording, instead he just played drums and yet the music sounds incredibly similar to Maniac Butcher. Not that I can complain both projects sound pretty good at this point in their careers and, for me, this is that classic Czech Black Metal sound that would permeate into a lot of other bands. They've certainly come a long way in a short span of time from the first demo. Basically, if you liked the material found on "Black Horns of Saaz" this is a much fuller release in that style. As before its raw and primitive sounding, which is perfect for what it is. Granted none of this is anything that special and it's going to be a couple albums before Dark Storm release really stellar stuff, but its fun delving into the early years of these bands, regardless of how lackluster the old material is.

The first release beyond the demo tape level came out pretty good as far as I'm concerned. This is still in the very early days of the Czech Black Metal scene so its cool seeing where the fire spreads from the few bands that are involved at this point in time.

Maniac Butcher & Dark Storm - Black Horns of Saaz
View Beyond Records, 1995
Genre: Black Metal

Maniac Butcher:
1. Barbarians
Dark Storm:
2. War
3. Victory










Side Maniac Butcher: here
Side Dark Storm:

As I mentioned on the Maniac Butcher side of things, I only have the re-released picture 7" from 2003 limited to 100 copies. I also missed out on the prior split that happened in between with a multitude of other bands. However the song "Victory" from Dark Storm was their only contribution to that tape, so I didn't miss out on any of the Dark Storm material in between.

As with Maniac Butcher, Dark Storm has had a drastic shift in their sound. Instead of playing the more Death Metal style of before, they've switched over to full on Black Metal. The truly bizarre thing about these projects is that Vlad is the musician writing for both projects and both projects now feature their new vocalist Barbarud Hrom. So... they basically sound the same. Sure they have different drummers and bassists, but the core music sounds, basically, the same. Normally this might be annoying, but I quite like the music, so it's fine by me that these projects are very similar. I think Vlad just wanted to play drums on one of his own projects. Like the Maniac Butcher side Dark Storm now play very thinned out primitive Black Metal, which they are far better at performing than Death Metal. I'm glad to see them quickly switch, because unlike Darkthrone their Death Metal wasn't really any good. Their Black Metal is far superior, so if you enjoy primitive and thinned out Black Metal, then this is definitely worth checking out!

Dark Storm - In Nomine Dark Storm
Pussy God Records, 1994
Genre: Death Metal

1. The Rebirth
2. Dark Storm
3. Satan has Already Risen
4. In Nomine...

Dark Storm formed around the same time as Maniac Butcher, but could never gain the same level of renown, despite basically being just as good of a band from what I can tell.  Dark Storm features Barbarud and Blasphemer of Maniac Butcher, but I believe the guitarist Desecrator was not involved with Maniac Butcher at this time.  Thus Dark Storm has a bit of a different feel from Maniac Butcher.

The part that I find to be the most interesting with these projects is they both basically started off as Death Metal bands before turning into full on Black Metal.  It’s almost curious you’d have two projects with members this closely related and to release them both in the earlier days of Black Metal.  I think Dark Storm has more of a Black/Death Metal feel than Maniac Butcher’s more prominent Death Metal feel.  One thing I do like about Dark Storm is that Barbarud has basically switched over to just using his Black Metal styled vocals, which are much better than the Death Metal vocals he was doing on the Maniac Butcher demos.

Despite the feel of the tone and music, Dark Storm performs an extremely simplistic form of this style.  With songs over six minutes this can feel somewhat mind-numbing after a while.  There just aren’t enough good riffs on the demo to keep it interesting.  Ultimately this just winds up being pretty boring for me to listen to.  Surprisingly this was apparently recorded live in 1994 and it seriously has better production than some demos that were not recorded live.  So whatever Dark Storm is doing in this regard, they’re doing it right!  It’s certainly not studio production, but I can hear the drums and guitar perfectly.  The vocals are actually mixed pretty well and never overwhelming anything either.

In the end I suppose this is for people who want to hear what the early days of the fledgling Czech scene was producing.  Perhaps I am very spoiled… because it just can’t compare to what the Czech Republic is producing today.    Even the modern albums by Dark Storm are very different from this.  Eventually the Czech Republic would be a monstrous scene for Black Metal… but in 1994 it wasn’t quite there yet.  But things were just beginning and you have to start somewhere, all that matters is what we have today because of early bands like Dark Storm.

Inferno

Inferno - Omniabsence Filled by His Greatness
Agonia Records, 2013
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

1. Perversion...
2. The Firstborn from Murk
3. The Funeral of Existence
4. Revelations through the Void
5. The Vertical Fissure of the Most Distant End
6. Metastasis of Realistic Visions






After a four year wait, which is probably due to Azazel leaving the band, Inferno return with their most immense album ever. I'm sure replacing a founding member is no easy task, so much of Inferno's sound has been shaped by this one musician. However, no replacement was necessary since Ska-Gul stepped up and took over all writing. This put the band down to a three piece for recording. It is interesting to note, though, that Silva Nigra and Inferno have essentially switched musicians at this point.

The album art is immediately eye catching. The booklet is beautiful and laid out like an old book, sort of. Actually the design is extremely similar to Rêx Mündi's booklet from 2009's "IHVH". The music isn't very similar though, but the layout and imagery is similar. Daniel's design work is far more elaborate though, building on the simplicity of what some others have done. The feeling of the occult is very present on this album and, luckily, the album really backs up this aesthetic.

With "Omniabsence Filled by His Greatness" Inferno explore an even more haunting sound. I think they really draw a lot of ideas from the world of Atmospheric Black Metal, but Inferno turns around and really ups the intensity. I still get an immense Atmospheric approach from this album, which is why I've labeled the genre as such. It's incredible to hear all the atmosphere being mostly generated by the lead guitar sections. I get the impression this is sort of a trick picked up from Mgła, which is awesome! Inferno have an entirely new application for this idea, so that gives this album a really fresh feel. Just listen to how "The Funeral Existence" builds with a really catchy riff, then transitions entirely with the lead section placed over it. We hear some serious Darkspace influence with the opening of "The Vertical Fissure of the Most Distant End", which further solidifies my opinion on this being an album between Atmospheric Black Metal and Black Metal. The closing track "Metastasis of Realistic Visions" gives me a sort of Septic Flesh vibe for some reason, but Inferno does it a bit differently than they would.

This incredibly dark atmosphere is enhanced by the production value and the way Adramelech's vocals were handled. This album was recorded in the infamous Necromorbus Studios in Sweden. If you like the sound that studio puts out, then you won't be disappointed with the quality behind this album.  Adramelech's vocals sound so much more haunting than ever before. A heavier layer of reverb is used this time around, but he puts it to good use in crafting the vocal lines. I was disappointed to see the lyrics all in English, but they are more well written than the translations of "Black Devotion".  It turns out the lyrics are still sung in Czech though, so that is great news. The lyrics have a deeper occult quality and even invoke the use of Latin at times. It is interesting to see Inferno get interested in this element of Black Metal, because it was never really there before. If you had asked me without hearing this album, I would say it looked like they were riding Watain's coattails, but the music is entirely different from that band. I feel like Inferno draws from a more intense Ondskapt or Mortuus, with some elements of Deathspell Omega for good measure. It's not as ugly and disturbing as French Black Metal, so it does lend more towards the Swedish or Polish approach as "Black Devotion" does.

In the end we really have a stellar album. It's clearly built on many other sounds, but the combination feels very fresh and different. It's so well written I can't help but put this as a clear winner in my top 10 for this year. An incredible amount of work and effort has certainly paid off in the end for Inferno... now I am left with the obvious question: "Now that they've reached this point... where will they go form here?" Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they played around with writing in this vein for a little while, because it is fairly different from what others are doing. Maybe refine this style a little more... if that's possible. Either way, I am very interested in what they might have in store for us next.

Inferno - Black Devotion
Agonia Records, 2009
Genre: Black Metal

1. Prolog
2. Superior Will
3. Whisper of Hope in Bloody Tears
4. Holy Poison
5. Eaten by Rats Forever
6. Loyalty of Honour
7. Altar of Perversity
8. Message to Ages
9. Sign of Hell
10. Way to Illumination Lies in Darkness
11. Epilog


After hearing "Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti" I was really looking forward to hearing a new Inferno album. Well after a mere year it is finally upon us. This time they return signed to the mighty Agonia Records, who lets bands put a lot of effort into their album artwork. Inferno is no exception, this comes in a beautiful digipak with a thick booklet. Everything in this aesthetic is dark and immense, you can just see that behind this wonderful art is a great album.... if anything is to be said about judging a book by its cover. Luckily "Black Devotion" does live up to its album art.

I was a little worried when I saw that the track titles were in English, but I'm happy to report that Adramelech sings the entire album in his native language. The booklet has English translations for the lyrics though. I'm not sure they translated very well though... On "Holy Poison" one of the lines translated to "Binding mind in randy obedience." No one really uses the word "randy" in English anymore, so the translation comes off as comical to some degree. That's one of the main reasons I'm thankful Adramelech stuck with singing in his native language. One thing I was sad to see was that there is an e-mail for contacting the band. I liked the old days where Inferno was strictly "No contact, no interview". In fact, I think it would be incredible if every single Black Metal band had this outlook. Could you imagine the scene where you never saw a single interview with a musician? You'd have to personally meet them and have a discussion and that's the only option you have! That would be really intense in my opinion...

Inferno have really transformed their sound for this album. I think they sound a lot more Scandinavian than ever before, leaning more towards a Swedish feel. Sometimes solid Norwegian parts show up like in "Altar of Perversity", but for the most part I feel the blend is heavier towards sweden. The Czech isn't lost entirely though, riffs in "Message to Ages" has some excellent sections I would expect to hear on any solid Czech release. It's interesting to hear an older band transforming a little bit in this way. I figured Azazel wouldn't write material very different from the past, if you asked me a few years ago... then "Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti" hit and changed everything. "Black Devotion" changes again, but I'm not having the same initial response. I think it has to do with the heavy Scandinavian feel and this style has been done over and over. Perhaps that's why this album wasn't talked about very much in 2009. The most I ever heard of it was that it was a good and solid album, but it didn't capture the imagination. I think that's what Inferno is striving for, but they just aren't quite hitting the perfection level yet. The sections are a lot more haunting than prior releases, where everything was very straightforward Black Metal. "Black Devotion" plays a lot more with subtlety and crafting an atmosphere. It really is almost like hearing a newer band start out.  It's like Inferno is sorting through the baggage of all their influences trying to sort out what direction they truly want to go. The good part about this is that Inferno is such a highly skilled and long running band that the music is going to sound great while they figure this out. It's not exactly like amateurs fumbling around with different styles, Inferno do have serious writing experience and they'll probably put together something sooner than new bands.

I really do like "Black Devotion" a lot, but if you were expecting material rooted in the Czech sound you might be disappointed. I think many people will write this off as "unoriginal" in some ways, because this is really the same type of Black Metal we've all been listening to for many years. The difference for me is that Inferno is just so good at writing and perform, I can't help but enjoy what they've put together here. Ultimately, if you want to hear a truly solid Black Metal performance, this album will not steer you wrong.

The True Endless & Sekhmet & Tundra & Inferno - United in Hell
Aphelion Productions, 2009
Genre: Black Metal

The True Endless:
1. Introdusion - Al Fock d'la Vita
2. La Peste Nera
Sekhmet:
3. Pohřební Bouře
4. Pochod Krvavé Temnoty
Tundra:
5. Nothing
6. Room 1977
7. Burial Night
Inferno:
8. Hřbitovní Prach
9. Démonické Požehnání k Smrti


Side The True Endless: ...coming eventually...
Side Sekhmet: ...coming eventually...
Side Tundra: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

When I saw the Inferno tracks listed on this split, I almost got pretty angry about it. I literally just wrote about this on the last split with Naburus... and even then those tracks weren't new! The thing this material has going for it is that it has never appeared on a CD format before. The other thing is that these were re-recorded in 2008. So, the production quality is much better than before. These songs are definitely good enough that it makes it worthwhile to share them in this kind of format. So, Inferno's addition on this split is a little less ridiculous than I first though.

Inferno & Naburus - Through the Shadow of Deadly Sparks
Hell is Here Production, 2009
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Hřbitovní Prach
2. Démonické Požehnání k Smrti
Naburus:
3. Powrót Antychrysta
4. Noc Upadku Chrześcijańskich Wartości









Side Naburus: here
Side Inferno:

Another year, another group of Inferno splits. This time Inferno introduces us to a great new Polish band Naburus. I really have discovered quite a few good bands from the splits Inferno has put out over the years, so I really shouldn't complain about them so much when they re-release material. This tape comes with a professionally done booklet and a dubbed cassette with stickers on it. I actually do really like the cover of this tape though.

If the Inferno material sounds familiar, then you'd be correct once again. This material has already been heard on some prior splits. "Hřbitovní Prach" is taken from the split with Front Beast, but was called "Graveyard Smell". I assume this is the Czech translation for that title. "Démonické Požehnání k Smrti" was already released on the split with Tundra. So the real worth of this release is the Naburus material and the nicely made booklet. Naturally, completing an Inferno collection also helps.

Winter Blasphemer & Inferno - Blood Poisoned by the Glorious Evil
Hail Satan 666 Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

Winter Blasphemer:
1. Armia Pekieł
2. Przeklęta Krew
Inferno:
3. Uctívání Bezbožného Kultu
4. Pochodem k Vlastnímu Pohřbu









Side Winter Blasphemer: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Inferno has certainly been no stranger to doing splits, but this time they've delved into doing split tapes rather than split 7". In some respects tapes are a little better, because I can at least look at these releases on a shelf and read the spines, instead of digging through vast amounts of vinyl. I've never heard of Winter Blasphemer before, so we'll see how they are when I listen to them later. For now it's Inferno with their new tape that is professionally pressed with a dubbed tape that has stickers on it. This material is limited to 444 hand-numbered copies and I have #8.

If this Inferno material seems familiar to some of you, you'd be correct. This material was originally released in 2005 on the split with Fagyhamu. There isn't much more I can say about this release other than that. I've already reviewed the material, so you can scroll down and see what I thought about this already. As usual, though, I do like to list every release I have, even if I don't have much to say about it.

Inferno & Tundra - Infernal Belief
Long Ago Records, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Rituál Temnoty
2. Pouta Nenávisti
3. Tyranie
4. K smrti za zvuku ocelového pekla (Moonblood Cover)
Tundra:
5. Awakened from the Eternal Rest
6. The Cabin Behind the Lake
7. Intermezzo
8. On a Cold October Morning
9. Sadismus (Slavia Czechia Version)


Side Tundra: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Inferno actually released a lot of material in 2008 and I'm not sure which hit the shelves first. Discogs says this was first released on January, 31st, so it's likely this is the first release. Either way this is actually a pretty good split with two great bands. It would make sense for this to have been written first, because the material on here sounds like more of a transition into "Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti".

Inferno has been steadily improving as of late. This split material is very strong and if it was released first, this is still written in the tried and true method of the Inferno style. I hear some play with guitar layering, but it is still very minimal. These sections really stand out compared to the rest of the songs, like in "Pouta Nenávisti".  When that lead part hits in "Tyranie" it is just perfect and easily launches this track as my favorite on the split.  Some of the rhythms have a bit more of a vicious edge to them compared to their other releases. This really works within the realms of Inferno's writing style. Either way, I've been saying Inferno need to develop more layering into their guitar lines and it is truly high time they did this. They finally did this with the "Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti" album, and for that I am grateful. Inferno closes their section of the split off with a cover of a Moonblood song, which was also submitted to the Moonblood Tribute album.

As with prior Inferno splits, this split has some of their stronger material from the old style. For some reason this style works very well in split form, but the prior albums weren't as strong sometimes. This split does have two great bands on it and you can't go wrong in that regard. All the new Inferno songs point to a good full length and they are certainly putting forth some strong material here.

Inferno - Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti
Undercover Records, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro - Nekonečné Hlasy Z Temnoty
2. Když Zima Přichází
3. Vidím V Plamenech Tvou Víru Zkrze Černý Kov
4. Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti
5. Píseň Krve, Ohně A Odporu
6. Tyranie Nesvatého Umění
7. Apokalyptický Oheň Pro Novou Etapu Života
8. Nejtemnější, Krvežíznivý
9. Ve Vřavě Války
10. Peklo Na Zemi
11. Outro - Požitek Ze Smrti A Pekla



And suddenly Inferno decides to launch themselves into being of the premiere Black Metal bands of the world. Inferno has certainly built a name for themselves in general, but it is with "Uctívání Temné Zuřivosti" that people will start to talk about this band a lot more. I feel like this is the album Inferno's writing has been trending towards for a while now. In some ways I think I was getting a little tired of their tried and true sound, or maybe I was just listening to far too much Inferno in one sitting as I tried to review the discography.

After a long intro bringing us into the atmosphere of this album the first thing I notice is truly how much Azazel has stepped up and put a huge amount of work into the guitar sections on this album. No more do we get a single guitar opus on this album, but instead we have masterfully layered guitars. I truly do mean masterful, he did the work of a truly veteran musician, and to be honest, based on the prior albums I didn't think this level of composition was in him. The organization of some songs is a little fragmented to me, but overall this is a pretty outstanding album.There are some great sections where a simple acoustic guitar is blended in and it just changes the entire atmosphere for all the more haunting. A truly chilling addition to their material and I've been wanting this to show up from quite a few splits ago when it was first introduced, but then never truly built upon until now. Adramelech's vocal performance is probably his strongest ever. On this album he really gets to shine with how strong his voice really is and I think, since Azazel upped the ante everyone else has as well. Even some of the older elements with the bass showing up stronger comes back here. We can really hear how different the bass mix is compared to their old material because this album closes out with a re-recording of "Peklo na Zemi" from the early demo days. This, unfortunately, is the last full-length album Belphegor appears on behind the drum kit. He truly does a stellar job on this recording and he really gives an intense fire to the songs.

This, truly, is a must have album in the Inferno discography. If you've been a long running Inferno fan, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The writing actually feels quite fresh and different, as opposed to them riding another bands coattails.  Nor does this change Inferno's overall sound/intent, it just increases some of the levels of complexity in the writing. It's like hearing a whole new dimension of their music for the first time ever and having that dimension change everything for the better. I'm really looking forward to Inferno's next material!

Inferno - Live Plague...
Grom Records, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro / Fanatizován Lidskou Moderností
2. Starý Řád
3. Neživé Stíny Naší Duše
4. Na Znamení Černého Rohu
5. Posedlí Po Svaté Krvi
6. Ohnivé Vize O Upálení Světa
7. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)
8. Krev Za Krev






For Inferno's fourth release in 2007 we get their third live album. They actually haven't released a live album in quite a few years, so it's about right for them to release one after so many album releases. "Live from the Woods" sounded okay, but I am expecting this more modern recording to have higher quality. This concert took place on the first of December, 2006 in Serbia. A lot of live recordings come out of Serbia, they must have some really great shows out there! Even though "Intro" is listed as a separate track, it really is on the same track as track 2.

The recording quality on this album is actually very good. The strange part about an Inferno live performance is that the set list is almost entirely what their latest album is. I, personally, find this somewhat annoying, because I prefer to hear an array of songs from a bands career. But with Inferno you hear the album that just came out... except now it's live, so the recording quality isn't nearly as good. The recording is great and I imagine being at an Inferno concert would be amazing, but listening to a recording of one like this, just isn't the same. If you present your set list like this, it's one thing to be there to watch this unfold before you, but it's entirely another to listen after the fact.

In the end, this isn't too different from the idea that Inferno's prior live albums presented. In some ways it's kind of silly to me, because I just bought this album the year before. On the other hand it is a well recorded live performance, which is nice to hear. I guess this is worth getting if your die hard fan or, like me, obsessive about having a complete discography.

Amalek & Inferno Split
Self-Released, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

Amalek - Feuervogel:
1. Feuervogel
2. Aus alten Tagen
Inferno - Gold Tribute for Idea:
3. Předurčení K Temnotě A Vítězství
4. Hymna Války









Side Amalek: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

And for the third Inferno release this year we don't get any new material. This is actually material found on "Legie Nesmrtelných," but the material is missing the first track. I'm sure this 7" is limited in some capacity, but I can't find out how many copies were ever made. At the very least the packaging is better and it actually has a normal 7" housing for your record.

I guess I can understand wanting to have this material released in some capacity if it's long out of print, but this is seriously the third time this material has been made available and it's not even the complete track listing. I normally wouldn't complain about this, but I think this is the most worthless release Inferno has done. This material appears in it's entirety on the "Fucking Funeral Attack" compilation. I guess it makes sense in the context of being a tribute to Old Legend Productions, but I would have rather heard some new material out of this. I really hope Inferno have something good coming on the next full length at least...

Front Beast & Inferno Split
Front Beast Records, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

Front Beast:
1. Messages Written in Blood
Inferno:
2. Graveyard Smell












Side Front Beast: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Another split from Inferno... and really, I'm just shocked at the huge volume of these that I've had to do. I can't believe how many splits this band does. The only thing I'm thankful for is that a lot of it is unique material, so at least I'm getting new Inferno material out of it. This one is using the typical bad packaging that looks like a folded piece of paper over the vinyl. As usual with vinyl, this is limited to 500 copies. Again, this is not hand-numbered... which I still find strange.

Inferno have begun offering a single track to the vinyl releases now. I actually thought this song was an instrumental track because the vocals don't really show up until after half the song is over. The good news is they really give a solid build up to the song. The songs they've been writing lately have been trending to a more haunting atmosphere than the vicious material they've been recording before. The viciousness is certainly still there, but I think they're blending the elements a lot better now. I am definitely looking forward to a new Inferno album more so than ever if they're consistently writing material like this.

Inferno & The Stone - Triumph-Dark-Brotherhood
Undercover Records, 2007
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1.Pohanské Meče
2. Příliš Hrdí Pro Pozemský Život
The Stone:
3. Bogovi od Srebra
4. Unveiled Evil









Side The Stone: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Inferno release their first split for this year, but it is not entirely new material. This is actually live material from a concert they played in Serbia with The Stone and some others, but only The Stone appears. This 7" is limited to 200 copies according to some sources I've found, but no numbering appears on the release. It is released in two different vinyl formats, a standard black and a clear splatter. I own the regular black format. I will say the packaging is a lot better than the usual folded paper approach the prior Inferno 7" splits. This time we have nice gatefold packaging with slots to put your record in.

The recording quality of the live performance is actually very good. It is certainly better than some of the live recordings I've heard from other Inferno performances. There really isn't much to say about live performances, which is why I usually don't bother buying live albums unless I'm a huge fan of the band. Naturally, it sounds like it would have been an incredible show and I wish I could have been there... but there's that ocean between Inferno and I that just makes it so hard to go to concerts frequently.

Inferno & Tundra Split
Slava Satan Records, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Démonické Požehnání k Smrti
Tundra:
2. The Triumph of Black












Side Tundra: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

After a pretty decent full length Inferno return to doing splits again, this time with Tundra playing raw Italian Black Metal. Given the fact that I've quite enjoyed a lot of the material they've put out on splits, even compared to full-lengths, I rather welcomed this. As usual with the 7" splits this is also limited to 500 copies. Surprisingly a lot of the Inferno vinyl splits have not been hand-numbered. I feel like this is unusual at this point of my reviewing career!

As I guessed, Inferno's track is actually very good. Rather than put two tracks towards the split, they've done one long song clocking in at over six minutes. I'm not sure why, but I feel like their single tracks are very well composed. It launches in with a fast section, but with a guitar line that is fairly well written. The closing guitar sequence is simply spectacular which generates a truly beautiful atmosphere for us. I still think Inferno is missing quite an opportunity by not using a second guitar on their recordings. I think they could generate even stronger material if they did this, but what they do with just one on these recordings is actually quite impressive. I think one of the major differences with some of these split tracks is that the bass guitar does a really solid job of playing that role of second guitar and at times this is true of this song. A lot of times the bass mainly follows the guitar and that's not as interesting as when it tries to accommodate for a missing second guitar.

In the end this is still an excellent song and I would love to hear this kind of writing hit future albums. I would just like to see them write a collection of ten songs this strong, because I know they have it in them to pull it off! I do like a lot of Inferno's albums, but I can't help but notice the strength of the material being released on the splits.

Inferno - Staré Bezbožné Emoce
Long Ago Records, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

Temná Poselství Dávných Předků (1997)
1. Intro / Ztracený Ve Lžích
2. Čekání Na Smrt
3. Pomsta
4. Věčný Pláč
5. Smrt Ve Jménu Boha / Outro
6. Burzum - Remixed
Peklo Na Zemi (1996)
7. Intro / Peklo Na Zemi
8. Checkotylo - Rudý Rozparovač
9. Ježíšův Konec
10. Město Nazaret / Outro
Bonus:
11. Staré Bezbožné Emoce

If you've missed out on Inferno's two legendary demos, now is your chance to hear them again! The real treat with this material is that it's also been remastered, so it sounds a lot more clear compared to the original demo material. As an even more added incentive they've included an entirely new bonus track, so at least we get to hear some new music out of this release. The new song is pretty decent and could have easily appeared on "Nikdy Nepokřtěni". It's kind of a stark change though, since Inferno's first demo appears second on the release and then all of a sudden we get a newly recorded song from 2006. The production difference alone is jarring. I still quite enjoy their first demo though, so that certainly makes this compilation worth getting, especially with the remastered quality.

Inferno - Nikdy Nepokřtěni
Die Todesrune Records, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

1. Nikdy Nepokřtěni
2. Starý Řád
3. Neživé Stíny Naší Duše
4. Na Znamení Černého Rohu
5. Příliš Hrdí Pro Pozemský Život
6. Posedlý Po Svaté Krvi
7. Ohnivé Vize O Upálení Světa









After a three year wait we finally get to hear a new full length from Inferno. Based on some of the material I've heard on their splits, I was pretty hopeful for this release. At least I was sure it wasn't going to sound like "V Návratu Pohanství...", which I had found pretty disappointing.  Well I am happy to announce "Nikdy Nepokřtěni" is a return of the solid Black Metal Inferno had been putting out for many years.

"Nikdy Nepokřtěni" is a raw and harsh album in the wonderful Czech form and it has moments that clearly feel reminiscent of what Maniac Butcher has been doing. At this point there isn't a lot to describe, because Inferno have settled into their sound of being a no frills fast and intense Black Metal band. What they do, they do very well, but over the years not much has changed with Inferno and this focus. The music is more well written than some prior material, but the one complaint I have is that on some of the splits they would write some truly compelling and haunting material, but that never seems to make it onto the full lengths. I truly wait for the day when they start bringing that into the realm of their full lengths.

In the end if you're looking for consistently solid Black Metal, Inferno is a good place to stop and listen. Given their vast amount of releases so far finding a good one has pretty high chances. I feel like a lot of their discography around this time has somehow been lost to history, but it's important with regards to this projects development, because future releases are bringing truly stunning material.

Inferno & Fagyhamu Split
Terranis Productions, 2006
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno: Sacrifice for Black Metal Magic
1. Uctívání Bezbožného Kultu
2. Pochodem k Vlastnímu Pohřbu
Fagyhamu:
3. Flames of Torment










Side Fagyhamu: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Inferno have been fairly quiet for a little while. Even though this music was recorded in 2005, it isn't released until 2006. I feel like a large amount of releases is being published, but very little of it is original or tells of a new full length being imminent. For their new onslaught they choose to do a split with the great Hungarian band Fagyhamu released on vinyl 7" and limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #381.

I feel like Inferno's style has sort of been waning a little bit in the past few years. They have gotten a little complacent in their writing and the excitement I felt in the past just isn't the same. Well, I have incredibly good news for this release. I feel like the fire is back. They are not writing Black Metal that tends towards a boring composition, instead "Uctívání Bezbožného Kultu" launches into the change with a very haunting acoustic passage. It is reminiscent of the brilliant song "Bitva O Měsiční Trůn", which also had an immense and haunting atmosphere. The music is more than just vicious and intense, it's well written and thoughtful. Adramelech's voice has returned to it's fiery passion that was so perfectly complementary to Inferno's sound. I certainly don't mind a dynamic vocal performance, but I feel like Adramelech was pushing it a littler further than needed.

I am very happy with this release and I feel like Inferno have brought their original sound back into the fold that made their music so wonderful to begin with. If their writing continues in this fashion, I truly hope a full length is imminent in the future. My one and only complaint about these songs is their length. I want them to be longer so I can have more Inferno!

Inferno - Fucking Funeral Attack 1997-2004
Forgotten Wisdom Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

Legie Nesmrtelných:
1. Legie Nesmrtelných
2. Předurčeni k Temnotě a Vítězství
3. Hymna Války
Split with Infernal War or Apolokia:
4. Hrdi A Silní
5. Sjednoceni Vírou
Split with Moonblood:
6. Ve Znamení Ohně
7. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)
Split with Celestia:
8. Bitva O Měsiční Trůn


If your a fan of Inferno, but just couldn't get a hold of their vinyl releases, well this is your chance! Here are all the splits and Ep's they've done over the past few years. I think it's interesting that they've included "Legie Nesmrtelných" since that also came out this year. The only down side to this is you don't get all the music on the splits, but at least we essentially get an Inferno "full-length" out of the deal.

This CD is limited to 500 copies and I really feel like I've reviewed this music to death, so I'll just leave this as an informational post.

Inferno - Legie Nesmrtelných
Eclipse Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

1. Legie Nesmrtelných
2. Předurčeni k Temnotě a Vítězství
3. Hymna Války













This year Inferno finally return with a taste of some new material they've been working on. I'm not sure if this is a sign that a new album is imminent, but for now we have three songs to see what Inferno has been up to. There have been a lot of releases from Inferno, but not much in the way of new material. This 7" is limited to 500 copies and I own #291.

First, I am happy to report that Adramelech is back to his usual vicious vocal performance. Sometimes he hits points that were similar to "V Návratu Pohanství...", but it is not nearly as oppressive as before. I don't think the guitar style has changed much, but the music feels like it hits a lot harder this time around. The recording is more raw than some of their other material and really has this razor edge to it that gives it a pretty interesting feel. I think Inferno is trying to compose with a single guitar in mind most of the time, whereas in the past I feel like they wrote for two. So this particular block of Inferno's career feels a little different from their earlier material. The three songs offered here are still very solid and more well done than the prior album in my opinion.

On the back of the vinyl it is stated: "This EP is dedicated to those Pure, True Black Metal hordes that are wit their Black Art to be the first in the face of God forever... We pay a hold to the underground scene from the end of 80-ies and the beginning of 90-ies... Vinyl is Pure BM Underground." While the very last statement might be true, it's interesting that they published this material on CD in the same year.

Inferno - Chrám Nenávisti
Unholy World Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro: V Prach A Popel Vše Obráceno Jest
2. Krev
3. Krajina Zasvěcená Ďáblu
4. Vládce Hor
5. Chrám Nenávisti
6. Outro: Dovršení Křesťanské Zkázy










After two full lengths and a multitude of splits, Inferno return to some of their earliest material for a re-release. I think "Chrám Nenávisti" is a great piece for reminiscing about Inferno's roots. While this isn't exactly like what they've been playing lately, it's always great for me to hear a bands origins. If you missed out on the very limited releases from 1999, then this was your chance to hear this material again. Once again this is being released in a limited format, but this time it is on cassette, limited to 500 copies. It comes on pro-printed cover and mine is with a dubbed cassette (which is pretty common if you live overseas from the issuing band). The original pressings featured lyrics for Inferno's material, but on this re-press there are no lyrics. However, one of the cool things you see on here is the statement "No contact. No interview." I think this is great! I really like bands that don't feel the need to pay into the media pandering and just let their music speak for itself, whether a listeners interpretation be right or wrong.

I don't know if this material will ever be realized in another format in the future, so I would have recommended getting this while it was available. That might not be true at this point, since I'm writing this nearly ten years after the re-release.

See video linked with original release below.

Inferno - Pure Serbian Hell
Unholy World Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal

1. Právo Ohně A Nenávisti
2. V Návratu Pohanství...
3. Žádná Naděje Pro Lidskost
4. V Ohraně Dědictví
5. Rouhání, Jednota, Bratrství
6. Za Krev Za Kraj
7. Pohanské Meče
8. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)
9. Hrdost Válka Nenávist







Around this time a lot of bands are putting out tape recordings of their concerts in Serbia. So, I'm not worried that Inferno will be releasing a live album after every full length! I'm sure this is limited in some capacity, but it isn't stated anywhere.

Most of this live performance comprises of the "V Návratu Pohanství..." album and has a few tracks from "Duch Slovanské Síly" towards the end. The booklet basically explains the intentions behind this recording: "This tape is a live record of Pure Serbian Hell in the rawest underground form. The aim of this material is to give all the orthodox BM maniacs a chance to listen that unforgettable atmosphere of that bestial night. We are to come together in hell!!!" That being said, the recording quality is not very good at all. In fact it is extremely raw and things are quite hard to hear. The one major benefit is Adramalech has used his more usual style of Black Metal vocals and not the ones featured on "V Návratu Pohanství...", so that made a big difference on how those songs sounded.

Given how raw this recording is... this is really only for die hard Inferno fans. I would not recommend people rush out to buy this unless you are trying to complete your collection!

Apolokia & Inferno Split
Sombre Records, 2003
Genre: Black Metal

Apolokia:
1. Acherontas Avari
Inferno:
2. Hrdi A Silní
3. Sjednoceni Vírou

Side Apolokia: here
Side Inferno:

So... this is kind of a pointless release for me. I guess if you missed out on the 2002 split with Infernal War, you get to at least have access to the Inferno tracks again. However, now we have a split with Apolokia instead. I have no idea why they did this, other than perhaps the legendary Sombre Records wanted to publish a split and they wanted to take that opportunity. Like most of the Sombre Records releases this is limited to 500 copies. I've already reviewed these songs, so I'm not going to bother doing that again.

See track featured below with the original pressing.

Inferno - V Návratu Pohanství...
Old Legend Productions, 2003
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Právo Ohně A Nenávisti
3. V Návratu Pohanství...
4. Žádná Naděje Pro Lidskost
5. V Obraně Dědictví
6. Krev Našich Králů
7. Rouhání, Jednota A Bratrství
8. Triumf Temnoty
9. Outro







After a couple years of quiet from Inferno they've written eight new tracks for their second full length. Given that "Duch Slovanské Síly" was a fairly solid release, I had relatively high hopes for this album... but, alas, it was not as good of an album for me. I was sort of expecting some very intense Black Metal given the burning church on the cover and written inside the booklet "The burning of churches is no longer accepted... explosives are the future." Rather than having a raging album that complements the statements, I feel like this album is a little dry.

The album starts off with a recording of fire and really sets a powerful stage for the artwork, but the music doesn't seem to live up to this setting. The guitars saw away at riffing that just sounds the same track after track, but they are not trying to play an atmospheric style and without that intent it mars the atmosphere. There are some tracks that bring up the intense levels I would expect to hear, and some areas that have interesting riffing, but there just isn't enough of this. It leaves this album sounding thin and dry. I'm not sure what the deal with Adramelech's vocals are, but they do not work at all. He's singing in such a way that often he hits into higher pitched wails that are just distracting with this style of music. It flat out just doesn't sound good and the frequency with which he does them really hurts everything more.

In the end this is a very unmemorable effort. Not even the atmosphere they are generating is something I will remember years from now. I had a lot of hope based on their last full length, but I hope they change in the future from whatever they were trying to do on this album...

Inferno & Infernal War Split
Death's Abyss Productions, 2002
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Hrdi A Silní
2. Sjednoceni Vírou
Infernal War:
3. Jewhammer
4. Satanic Martial Terror










Side Infernal War: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

Even though 2002 wasn't a very active year for Inferno, they still took the time to record two new songs in the studio to be presented on this split with Infernal War. One thing I do like about Inferno is that they seem to make fairly wise choices on who they do splits with. I have discovered great music from this band and who they choose, unlike my experience with Horna. Anyway, this 7" is limited to 500 hundred hand-numbered copies of which I own #299.

The two tracks submitted by Inferno are pretty good. They're recorded a lot more raw than I was expecting. But we first heard "Hrdi A Silní" on the previous live album (actually I'm not sure which was released first...) The studio version isn't that much better in quality than the live version, but it's still done well enough to know what's going on. This newer material reminds me more of what Germany was producing for Black Metal, because that slightly upbeat feel for Czech music is gone. The riffing sort of plods along with nothing really cutting through. It really needs a good second layer over the guitar playing a wonderful lead section. The second song "Sjednoceni Vírou" is an entirely new track. It's very similar to the first and hopefully this is a style Inferno can sort out in the future. At least Adramelech's vocals are still very solid as usual.

These are by no means bad songs, they're just not as interesting as what Inferno has normally written, in my opinion. The songs were originally recorded in 2001, so it's a lot closer to "Duch Slovanské Síly" than the upcoming album, I'm sure. However, I do wonder if these were tracks that just didn't fit well with the album?

Inferno - Live from the Woods
Forgotten Wisdom Productions/D.U.K.E., 2002
Genre: Black Metal

1. Pohanské Meče
2. Hrdost, Válka, Nenávist
3. Ve Stínech Vlků
4. Za Krev Za Kraj
5. Do Srdce Temnoty
6. Peklo na Zemí
7. Duch Slovanské Síly
8. Hrdí a Sílní







Naturally after recording their first full-length it was time for Inferno to record a live album the following year. One of the interesting aspects is that this is the legendary French label D.U.K.E.'s first release. It actually prints the full length of the name of the label on the back before they switched to just using D.U.K.E. instead of Die Unaussprechlichen Kulten Editions. This release is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #461.

This was recorded live  in Anerschutz, Germany 2001. One of the big questions about live recordings, especially with regards Black Metal is "can you even hear anything?" "Live in the Woods" is actually quite well recorded and you can hear everything that is going on for the most part. The drums are a little quiet, which is strange, because often they're too loud in these kinds of recordings.  The strangest part of this live performance that it is pretty much the entire album "Duch Slovanské Síly" played in the same track order. I don't know if this was some sort of CD release party or what, but it really just is the prior album. Perhaps this is why this live recording isn't considered entirely interesting, when it came out we had just heard this album. Given Inferno's vast track catalog, I was surprised to see this track listing. It does feature one of their popular songs from the early demo days "Peklo na Zemí" and it has on new song we've never heard "Hrdí a Sílní". The new track is quite good, but it is basically something that could have appeared on "Duch Slovanské Síly."

The more interesting aspect of this is found in the booklet where Inferno make some statements about a few things. On the picture of the band photo it says "Inferno supports the pagan faith and white Europe!" Then turning the page we have a lengthier statement: "There, many wars have been waged and rivers of blood have been shed... For that, our nation, our Slavonic pride and our traditions could have been preserved and didn't die out. There, many ones were trying to destroy our Slavonic roots, but we have no gone under! Therefore, not even you go under!" These days this would probably get Inferno labeled as an NS band, but I think that would be a mistake. (Actually referring to them as NS would be a massive insult and you would really show you knew nothing about this topic.) A lot of people mistake "white pride" as outright racism, but I'm not sure that's the case with a lot of these bands. It's such a charged idea in my culture, but I have no idea how it is interpreted over in Europe. Here, I think Inferno is talking about preserving their culture and traditions and I can understand why they would want to do that. When you've been on the end of being ethnically cleansed, you can see how you would fight against this idea very intensely.

In the end this is a decent live album. I think it is sort of unnecessary though, given how closely related to the prior album is. I was worried that with only one guitar Inferno's sound would be pretty thing, but it worked out pretty well. I think this is really only for the die hard Inferno fans, like myself, so I wouldn't recommend everyone rush out and buy this.

Inferno - Duch Slovanské Síly
Eclipse Productions, 2001
Genre: Black Metal

1. Příchod Slovanského Ohně
2. Pohanské Meče
3. Hrdost, Válka, Nenávist
4. Ve Stínech Vlků
5. Za Krev Za Kraj
6. Do Srdce Temnoty
7. Pro Syny Této Země
8. Duch Slovanské Síly
9. Krev A Síla Našich Předků







Here it is! Inferno finally made it to the debut full-length stage of their career. I think this took a lot longer than most bands and it's kind of shocking how long this took. Nonetheless, this is a long overdue release and I'm pleased to see this finally see the light of day. This is one of the few Eclipse Production CD's I don't own, instead I own the Long Ago Records version, which is a repress from 2004. These are basically the same thing because Eclipse Productions eventually formed into Long Ago Records.

I don't think I would ever class this as a classic amidst the history of Black Metal, but it's a solid first release and Inferno's sound has evolved quite a lot over the years. In the beginning I think Inferno was going for a more majestic and haunting sound of Black Metal, similar to early Dimmu Borgir on some levels, only with less keyboards. However, keyboards were certainly present to add that layer of atmosphere. At this point they changed into favoring a more traditional and raw style of Black Metal, which they are far better at writing, in my opinion. Inferno were never content to just play blasting intense Black Metal through an entire album and actually most of the songs on "Duch Slovanské Síly" are fairly mid-paced. This means the band focuses on writing solid riffing that listeners can get behind, and in that category I think Inferno really succeed. Is it original? No. Is it a very good listen otherwise? Yes! They are definitely solid writers and know how to craft an excellent Black Metal song. The raw nature of their recording style creates a sense of viciousness within their music, especially in the faster sections, but the mid-paced approach actually generates a more haunting aspect. I think the latter is what they were trying to achieve by adding keyboards, but the band really doesn't need that to evoke a more powerful atmosphere.

One of the things I find interesting is how thin the distortion settings are. One of the guitars seems to have barely any distortion on it, yet there's just enough to create a great Black Metal atmosphere. This is a little different from the usual high-gain guitar settings I'm used to in the Black Metal genre. They do stick with creating their usual Ambient driven into and outro though... I will say the outro track "Krev A Síla Našich Předků" is really weird and something I would expect more from the mind of Lord Morbivod if he ever made this kind of music.

In the end Inferno's debut is a great success to me. I like this band a lot, and even though they may not be re-inventing the scene or breaking down barriers, they know how to craft good Black Metal. I don't need a band to always be adding to the scene in order for me to find enjoyment in their sound and since they're following in the footsteps of what the guys in Maniac Butcher are performing, I can't complain if it's well written.

Inferno & Celestia Split
Sombre Records, 2000
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Bitva O Měsiční Trůn
2. Outro
Celestia:
3. Spectra











Side Celestia: ...coming eventually...
Side Inferno:

We're almost to Inferno's debut full length, but first they needed to get in one more split!  I think throughout their career Inferno is one of the bands that has done an incredible amount of splits.  This time they do their split with France's Celestia limited to 500 copies.  The cover looks like a fantasy novel, which is quite different from previous Inferno material where the focus has been on fire.  I think the only thing I don't like about this is that it's not the usual 7" packaging where you put the record in a sleeve, instead the covers are more like a booklet you put the record in between, but nothing is really holding the record in place very securely.

I was expecting more of the same type of Metal Inferno had been playing, but I think this track is a little bit different.  It sounds extremely good and feels even more thought out than some of their previous works. It starts off with a plodding bass line, which launches into an extremely  haunting riff.  Despite the tremelo picked chords and blast beats, the whole song has a rather  mid-paced feel.  Inferno still managed to craft an arrangement that was actually interesting to listen to and it sounds a lot darker than their other material.  I hope this is indicative of the direction the band is taking for the upcoming full-length!

Even though it is not listed on the booklet, I think there is an outro track.  There's a distinct space between the Black Metal and this keyboard arrangement. The keyboard piece that introduces the song is their most impressive arrangement thus far.   I really hope to hear more of this type of music in the future from Inferno, because I think they're on their way to writing some very compelling Black Metal.

Moonblood & Inferno Split
Sombre Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Inferno:
1. Ve Znamení Ohně
2. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)
Moonblood:
3. Kingdom Under Funeral Skies










Side Moonblood: here
Side Inferno:

Inferno have truly hit legendary status now, doing a split with the mighty Moonblood!  I was very excited to see this split given my love for both projects.  The vinyl edition of this is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies and I own #425. I also own the tape version where the tapes are limited to 555 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #521.

Inferno graces us with one new track and gives us a cover song of the legendary Master's Hammer.  This track seems in line of the type of material found on the previous split.  Their Black Metal is heavier and more vicious at times than before.  They are using keyboards in certain sections to emphasize certain guitar phrases, or add to the atmosphere a little more.  The vocals feel every so slightly different to me for some reason.  I think Adramelech is going for a higher ranged scream than previous recordings.  He actually achieves a slight Ihsahn styled scream in some sections.  The close the album off with a cover of Master's Hammer and given that bands legendary status, it makes me see how they really helped define that special Czech sound I hear in all the area bands.  It's one of the major reasons I love Czech Black Metal so much and find it to be fairly unique!

In the end, this is a great collectors item.  The songs are great from both bands, which is a rare thing to achieve with splits, at least in my opinion.  A lot of times I buy splits because I love one of the bands and they do the split with a terrible project or a project that doesn't complement their own.  In this case, I feel a Moonblood/Inferno split works very well because both bands writing works well together.  Definitely a solid split and worth owning if you can find it.

Maniac Butcher & Inferno Split
Sombre Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Maniac Butcher:
1. Metal from Hell
Inferno: Chrám Nenávisti
2. Intro: V Prach A Popel Vše Obráceno Jest
3. Krev
4. Krajina Zasvěcená Ďáblu
5. Vládce Hor
6. Chrám Nenávisti
7. Outro: Dovršení Křesťanské Zkázy





Side Maniac Butcher: ...coming eventually...

Side Inferno:
If you happened to miss out on the 3-way split from this same year, then you had a chance to get some of the material on vinyl. Unfortunately, the material from Sezarbil was not included, perhaps due to the length. This is a full LP in size, so I'm not sure all of the material could have fit form all three bands. However, you get to hear the material presented by Maniac Butcher and Inferno at the very least. In the same fashion as the CD, this is also a limited released, but this time it is limited to only 350 copies. This is all the same material so I won't bother reviewing it again, but for the sake of making my discography complete, I am including the release and at least telling of it's existence and what it looks like.

See video linked with original release below.

Maniac Butcher/Sezarbil/Inferno - Proti Všem...
Pussy God Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

Maniac Butcher:
1. Metal from Hell
Sezarbil: Temný Sen
2. Varování
3. Temný Sen
4. Příprava K Boji
5. Zničení Církve Svaté
6. Immortality
Inferno: Chrám Nenávisti
7. Intro: V Prach A Popel Vše Obráceno Jest / Krev
8. Krajina Zasvěcená Ďáblu
9. Vládce Hor
10. Chrám Nenávisti / Outro: Dovršení Křesťanské Zkázy

Side Maniac Butcher: ...coming eventually...
Side Sezarbil: here

Side Inferno:
By 1999 Inferno was probably starting to make a bigger name for themselves and they managed to get onto this split with the big named band Maniac Butcher. I think Maniac Butcher is pretty interested in helping out the lesser known projects from their region, so the split with Sezarbil and Inferno was released. This is the first time Inferno has had a release pressed onto CD and it will certainly not be the last. This split is limited to 666 hand-numbered copies and I happen to own #483.

I think the music featured on the split is a logical progression from Inferno's demo material. It's not too much faster, but still maintains that sort of mid-paced approach to Black Metal. I think Inferno are trying to generate a more haunting and sinister atmosphere, but that more up-beat Czech style plays through a little bit in some ways for this release. Listening to the second track you can hear a more haunting atmosphere play through to show that Inferno is experimenting a bit more, but it doesn't stay haunting the whole time. As with the demo material it does have some keyboard material playing under their songs and their application of the material distinctly reminds me of early Satyricon, which is certainly not a bad association. The pacing is certainly similar to Satyricon, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was a major influence to Inferno. Inferno mixes it up a bit more and saws away at the guitars similar to some of the Swedish acts and other Czech bands, so it really creates a rather interesting blend. As Black Metal would progress I think this blend would become rather overused, but in these still semi-early days bands like Inferno managed to bring something fairly good to our ears.

Inferno is still improving quite a bit and the production on this recording is naturally better than the cassette demos. If you enjoyed their demo material, I highly recommend checking out the material on the split. For me this is where Inferno really started to take off a bit, even though I like their later releases a lot more, I think this is where their writing started to show through in a strong way.

Inferno - Live in Bitterfeld
Eclipse Productions/Sombre Records, 1999
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Krev
3. Krajina Zasvěcená Ďáblu
4. Peklo Na Zemi
5. Vládce Hor
6. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)
7. Pomsta
8. Ve Znamení Ohně
9. Chrám Nenávisti
10. Stemmen fra Taarnet (Burzum Cover)
11. Ztracený ve Lžích
12. Géniové (Master's Hammer Cover)




After only two demos Inferno went right into releasing a live tape.  This is fairly impressive since they clearly had enough material to perform eleven songs without performing both demos in their entirety.  On here we get to hear a few new songs before their studio recordings would come to light.  This tape is limited to 333 hand-numbered copies and I have copy #291.

If you really want to experience Inferno live in the early days this tape is an excellent way to do just that!  Whatever system they were using to record this live performance came out pretty damn good.  They certainly didn't have access to high quality live recording equipment like you would hear on something like Emperor's "Live Imperial Ceremony", but that's not the point.  Here we capture a raw and vicious performance from this great band in their earlier days.  This is before they even put out their first full length!  They really put forth a rather flawless performance as far as I can tell and I think it would have been great to experience this live incarnation of Inferno.  Luckily it is forever saved on this tape, so that others can feel some of the experience even if it is not exactly like being there.

I feel like this is when Inferno really started to strengthen with their music.  Even the early demo stuff sounds more vicious than the actual recordings.  There's no keyboards or any kinds of effects going on like you heard on the demos, so you get nothing but a raw and intense performance.  In order to flesh out their live show a bit more they did perform a couple cover songs; one from Master's Hammer and the other from Burzum.  Naturally this really stick out because they sound quite different from the other Inferno material, but there's nothing wrong with throwing some classic songs into your live performance.  They did a great job on them anyway.

I really have no complaints about this live recording and if you're an Inferno maniac like I am, then this definitely needs to be part of your collection!  It's just a shame it's limited to so few copies.  The tape is probably long gone, but I was lucky enough to procure copy, so who knows maybe someone else will get lucky and find it as well.

Inferno - Temná Poselství Dávných Předků
Self-Released, 1997
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Ztracený ve Lžích
3. Čekání na Smrt
4. Pomsta
5. Večný Pláč
6. Smrt Ve Jménu Boha
7. Outro
8. Burzum (Remixed)








This is Inferno's second demo and it is certainly as good as the first if not a little better. I am actually fortunate to have an original copy. It has a professionally printed booklet which folds out and has all the lyrics inside. An interesting fact is that Barbarud Hrom from Maniac Butcher did the cover layout for this demo.

Musically this demo builds on what "Peklo na Zemi" was trying to put forth.  I feel like the writing has matured a little and the songs feel a lot more cohesive than before.  As if they are starting to build into the Black Metal band they will eventually become, basically.  Things are a little more aggressive on this demo, they don't hesitate to do some serious blasting sections upping the intensity that extra level for the listener.  There are still some very catchy guitar sections though and I feel they've managed to blend them in such a way they have more of a cohesive flow.  The one element that surprises me is the amount of keyboards they've decided to add into their music.  Now the keyboard isn't going on the time to make this a Symphonic Black Metal release by any means, but it's going often enough to add that different kind of atmosphere only a keyboard can.  I think it makes Inferno seem more like early Emperor with the way Inferno tends to use the keyboards.  They usually try to stay away from using keyboards in their catchier riffs, which is something I certainly appreciate because they never seems to work out too well.

If I was listening to Inferno for the first time and I heard this I would be worried they would start to overuse the keyboard and become a Symphonic Black Metal band. By this time we should all know that doesn't happen, instead Inferno turns into something much different. It is certainly interesting to hear Inferno experiment a bit with their sound and watch them develop as a band though.

The last track on this demo is called "Burzum-remixed". To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what this means and if someone wants to leave a message telling me, feel free. I listened to the song "Burzum" from the album "Filosofem" and I'm not entirely sure if they are attempting to cover this song. The Burzum song is around seven minutes in length and the Inferno version is about three minutes, so clearly it's not the whole thing... I really don't know what this is.

This demo was recently (2012-ish) re-released and since I own that I'll post the cover below:

It sort of makes me wonder if they're the same castle... I think they might be!

Inferno - Peklo na Zemi
Night Birds Records, ? (1996 Original)
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2.Peklo Na Zemi
3.Checkotylo Rudý Rozparovač
4.Ježišův Konec
5.Město Nazaret
6. Outro










Here begins a set of reviews for another band with a monstrous discography! Even though Metal-Archives lists many bands with the name "Inferno", as far as I am concerned the Inferno from the Czech Republic is the only one that exists! Unfortunately I missed out on getting the original version of the demo for this band, so the cover featured above is a recent repress on Night Birds Records, which is limited to 300 copies. As far as I'm concerned this is an excellent repress. It's on a pro-printed booklet which features pictures of forest fires throughout.  Based on pictures of seen, the original booklet was a little more interesting and featured lyrics and band photos.  This booklet merely has the track listing, but still looks quite nice with the professional printing.

Inferno get their start in the mid-90's along with other major notable Czech bands like Maniac Butcher and the groups surrounding them.  Inferno got their start around when bands were skipping the Death Metal phase of their careers and Black Metal was known enough to just start in that genre.  This works out great because Inferno start off releasing a very solid demo.  There's no phase the band goes through in order to get used to writing and composing, they just work seamlessly well together.

I don't know what it is about Czech bands, but they have this very distinct Black Metal sound unlike any other country. You hear this in Maniac Butcher, Stíny Plamenů, and others.  At times the music can have a sort of up-beat feel, yet the atmosphere creates a huge contradiction to this because it is so dark in nature. So these bands must be touching upon something right. I'm trying to remember back to things in 1996 and I think this is also a little before Black Metal really got known for blasting their way through an album, so while Inferno has fast sections, "Peklo na Zemi" doesn't depend on speed to generate the atmosphere.

In the end we have quite a strong beginning for this band and I look forward to hearing their future works.  I know this band only gets stronger as they continue to release material in the future, but I hope their original offerings aren't completely lost to the annals of time. This is some absolutely classic material as far as I'm concerned.