Eminenz

Hailing from Saxony in Germany, EMINENZ is a bit of a lesser-known black metal band, but one of historical importance. Formed in 1989, the founders of the band were veterans of the death metal scene. With vocalist Leviathan at the core, the band was rounded out by Zwerg and Butcher on guitars, Darkman on bass, and Iten on drums.

Eminenz's biggest claim to fame is that they were one of the supporting bands for Mayhem's 1990 European tour. This was the tour that gave the world the Live in Leipzig album. What was especially noteworthy about Eminenz earning this supporting slot was that they had no studio albums to their credit, and hardly any demos!

From their first demo, this is "Death Fall"

In terms of their sound, Eminenz's death metal influences can clearly be heard. On the early demos especially, the riffing clearly owes a debt to old-school death/thrash. Listen to "Death Fall" (above), from the 1990 demo Slayer of My Daughter, for a clear example.

After a series of well-received demos, they put out their first full-length, Exorial, in 1994. The interesting thing about this album--and Eminenz's style in general--is they draw heavily from a death metal template, all while crafting highly atmospheric music that clearly fits in the black metal tradition. Their use of well-placed keyboards lent an eerie and occultic aura to their sound. Check out the three-minute mark of "Jesus Wept Nevermore" (from the Exorial album), below:

Eminenz's sound hasn't really changed radically since Exorial. Their music still draws heavily on death metal riffing and song structures, but contains important elements of black metal. They may have never achieved the kind of success or notoriety that fellow countrymen Desaster, Nargaroth, or Nagelfar did (to name a few), but Eminenz has earned their place in the pantheon of German black metal elites.

Off of 1996's The Heretic, this is "Demons Cross a Fiery Path"

"Infernal Majesty", from the 2007 self-titled album, is a more recent example of their sound

Select Discography:

Slayer of Your Daughter (demo) (1990)

Necronomicon Exmortis (demo) (1991)

Ghost (demo) (1992)

Exorial (full-length) (1994)

The Heretic (full-length) (1996)

Anti-Genesis (On the 8th Day I Destroy Godcreation) (full-length) (1998)

The Blackest Dimension (full-length) (2000)

Eminenz (full-length) (2007)

Next time: ARCTURUS