Salem Orchid

The British scene didn't really produce a good deal of noteworthy black metal in the 1980s after Venom.  The infamous Bal-Sagoth formed in 1989 (more on them later), but they didn't put out anything that I know of until a 1993 demo.  London's SALEM ORCHID, however, put out demo material in the years 1990-1991.  This black/death metal band would go on to form Akercocke after breaking up in the mid-nineties, so in that respect, their material is a critical part of the UK scene.

From their untitled 1990 demo

After an untitled 1990 demo, the band put out a 1991 demo that contained "Sempiternal Suffering" and "Nirvana of Agony".  These are two songs the band would become famous for.  Salem Orchid's style isn't either straightforward black metal or death metal.  The structures of the songs themselves do resemble old-school death metal, but the more experimental sections of the songs have an evil, black metal atmosphere to them.

The infamous "Sempiternal Suffering"

Salem Orchid's long, almost gothic-feeling songs would frequently meander through numerous motifs over their sometime more than ten-minute length.  This feature of their style carried over to the later band, Akercocke.  Satanism also featured prominently in their sound.

Following the 1991 demo, Salem Orchid put out two live demos in 1991 as well.  The band managed to catch the attention of record label Cacophonous Records, and was on track to sign a record deal, but disputes between current and former members of the band over who owned the name of the band derailed this deal.  After breaking up and re-forming a few times during the early nineties, Salem Orchid broke up for good in 1995.  Before some members went on to form Akercocke, the band Church of Satan served as a stopping point for former members of Salem Orchid.  Their style was a much odder black/death combo than Salem Orchid's was, very aggressive.

An example of what Church of Satan sounded like

Select Discography:

untitled 1990 demo
A Fictional Experience Between Drowning Lovers (demo) (1991)
Demo '91 (demo) (1991)
Live (live demo) (1991)
Demo '92 (demo) (1992)

Next time: ANATOMY