Demoncy

One of the American underground's greatest black metal acts, DEMONCY was formed in 1988 by the man known as Ixithra (although he has sometimes gone by Wicked Warlock of Demonic Shadows--a pseudonym he used as a session musician in Profanatica).  Upon its formation, Demoncy was essentially a one-man band.  Since then, the lineup has fluctuated quite a bit and Demoncy's output has been less-than-prolific.

Here's 1991's "Impure Blessings (Dark Angel of the Four Wings)"

Demoncy's first release was a one-song rehearsal in 1991 entitled "Impure Blessings (Dark Angel of the Four Wings)".  It is a dark, raw, and vicious slab of black metal that owes more to Beherit and Blasphemy than Venom or Bathory. Even in the murkily-produced gloom that is this rehearsal (which was released on cassette, by the way), the elements are all laid out for Demoncy's future sound.  1993's Faustian Dawn bears this out.  Containing ten tracks, it is some extremely vile-sounding black metal--not for the faint of heart!

"Winter Bliss" is my favorite song off of Faustian Dawn.

Over the next few years, Demoncy churned out a few demos that continued this extreme sound.  1994's Hypocrisy of the Accursed Heavens, 1995's Ascension of a Star Long Since Fallen, and 1996's Commencement of the Dark Crusades are all solid demos that circulated in the underground and won over many converts to Demoncy's dark style.  But it was 1999 that was Demoncy's banner year.  In that year, their 1996 demo Within the Sylvan Realms of Frost was released as a studio album by So It Is Done Productions (and it contained some demo material from 1994-5), but Joined in Darkness was also released.  After 11 years of existence, Joined in Darkness was Demoncy's first studio album proper.

Off of Joined in Darkness, here is "Angel of Shadows (Goddess of the Dark)"

Joined in Darkness cemented Demoncy's place as one of black metal's elite.  Since then, Demoncy's releases have been few and far between.  Since then, two full-lengths (2003's Empire of the Fallen Angel and 2012's Enthroned is the Night) and one 7" split with Dark Opus is all they've put out.  But Demoncy continues to stay relevant through concerts and festival appearances.

Select Discography:

Impure Blessings (Dark Angel of the Four Wings) (rehearsal tape) (1991)

Faustian Dawn (demo) (1993)

Hypocrisy of the Accursed Heavens (demo) (1994)

Ascension of a Star Long Since Fallen (demo) (1995)

Commencement of the Dark Crusades (demo) (1996)

Within  the Sylvan Realms of Frost (full-length) (1999)

Joined in Darkness (full-length) (1999)

Empire of the Fallen Angel (2003)

The Ode to Eternal Darkness 7" (split with Dark Opus)(2004)

Enthroned is the Night (full-length) (2012)

Next time: MARTYRIUM AND THE EARLY GERMAN SCENE

Sinoath

Ask any casual black metal fan to name an Italian black metal band, and you'd probably get a blank stare. Maybe they've heard of Opera IX or Graveworm, or perhaps a more recent band like Blasphemophager, but the old school? Not likely. And that's a shame because Italy's scene was as vibrant as so many other countries. While Necrodeath and Bulldozer are at the head of the pack with their notorious black/thrash, Death SS was something of a distant ancestor, and Mortuary Drape held their own with so many first-wave and second-wave bands, bands like SINOATH also deserve a mention.

From their first demo, here is "Black River Acheron"

Formed in 1990 in the Sicilian city of Catania and citing bands ranging from Death SS to Obituary to Black Sabbath as influences, Sinoath released their first demo--Forged in Blood--in 1991. With such a diverse mix of influences, one would expect a sound that doesn't neatly fit under a 'black metal' label. And this would be a fair assumption. Using keyboards for a very effective dark and occultic atmosphere, the riffing clearly owes a lot to 1980s death AND black metal, with fairly brutal vocals to boot.

From their second demo, here is "Sinoath"

On their second demo--1993's Still in the Grey Dying--Sinoath's sound began to solidify as a more death/thrash kind of style.  The keyboards continue to enhance the atmosphere of the music, making it have a kind of old-school occult feel to it, but make no mistake, it's still more firmly in the death/thrash camp than black metal camp.  The same can be said of their oddly titled full-length album, 1995's Research.  Shortly after the release of this album, Sinoath broke up.

About a decade later, however, Sinoath got back together with a totally new lineup (other than founding drummer Salvatore).  The result was 2007's full-length Under the Ashes.  This album has a sound that can only be described as merging the keyboard-driven evil atmosphere of their early work with an homage to old-school black/thrash.  Take a listen:

2007's Under the Ashes

Select Discography:

Forged in Blood (demo) (1991)
Still the Grey Dying (demo) (1993)
Research (full-length) (1995)
Under the Ashes (full-length) (2007)

Next time: DEMONCY