Tormentor

The most famous black metal to come out of Hungary is the atmospheric old-school black metal band TORMENTOR.  They formed in 1986, and the two demos they put out in the late 1980s (later released on CD as albums) were very strong entries into the black metal canon.  Featuring the vocals of the enigmatic Atila Csihar (later of Mayhem fame, among other bands), Tormentor were not afraid of more adventurous guitar playing than the norm in black metal.

The title track from their 1987 demo, The Seventh Day of Doom

After 1987's The Seventh Day of Doom demo, they put out the classic Anno Domini demo in 1988.  This demo--more than Doom--was studio-quality work of the highest caliber.  Tormentor's black metal style was a bit more melodic than some of the primitive black/thrash that was mostly the norm in the 1980s.  Sweden's Dissection famously covered "Elizabeth Bathory" in the 1990s, and their melodic Swedish style fit Tormentor perfectly.

Tormentor's most famous song, "Elizabeth Bathory"

After these two epic demos, Tormentor didn't put out much else of interest to old-school black metal fans.  They did a split album with other bands in 1989, but it wasn't new material.  They broke up in 1991 and re-formed in 1999, but their material since then has been an experimental hard rock sound, not black metal at all.  Aside from the two demos, there have been a few bootlegs here and there.

This 1988 live performance is off of the 2000 compilation album, The Sick Years

Attila, of course, went on to great international notoriety with his performances with Mayhem, Aborym, and a host of other bands.  He has not focused much on Tormentor at all in recent years.

Select Discography:

Live in Budapest (live demo) (1986)
The Seventh Day of Doom (demo) (1987)
Anno Domini (demo) (1988)
Black and Speed Metal (split with Atomic, Trepan, Diktator) (1989)
The Sick Years (compilation) (1998)

Next time:  BATHORY gives birth to Viking Metal