Ungod

Germany's UNGOD, hailing from Bavaria, is a band that has made an impact on German black metal, but is not as widely known outside the borders of their native land. Their music in the early 90s helped shape the German scene almost as much as that of Desaster's or Eminenz's, and in that regard, they are an important band.

Ungod was formed in late 1991 by Schiekron (bass), Condemptor (drums), Ancient Blasphemic Grave Invocator (guitar), Angel of Blasphemy (guitar), and Infamist of Tumulus (vocals). Citing old-school masters Hellhammer,  Venom, and Bathory as inspiration--as well as Master's Hammer, Samael, and the early Greek scene--Ungod set about creating vile, blasphemous music shortly after their inception.

Here is their 1992 demo in its entirety

The result was the 1992 demo Magicus Tallis Damnatio. As you can hear above, this demo is raw and primitive black metal that not only bears the imprint of Ungod's aforementioned inspirations, but you can also hear the influence of bands like Sarcofago and Blasphemy. The intense minimalism of their sound also calls to mind the style of Dutch band Bestial Summoning.

Speaking of Bestial Summoning, the release of Magicus caught the ear of The Unsane, vocalist for that Dutch band. After reviewing the demo favorably in his underground zine, he approached  the band with the idea of putting out a full-length album on his label, Heretic Supremacist Records. The band agreed.

"Journey Through Forgotten Myth" comes from their 1993 full-length, Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts

The resulting album, Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts, is a refining of their demo sound and a milestone in 1990s German black metal. The influence of Samael and Master's Hammer can be heard pretty strongly, yet the album stands on its own. Heretic Supremacist Records released the album on vinyl in early 1993 before folding. Germany's Merciless Records then put out the album on CD in late 1993.

With this album, Ungod had now established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in German black metal. That being said, they still remained a very underground band. Over the next few years, they only managed to put out splits with other underground bands and the occasional demo. While their cult, underground ethos propeled them forward, they never exploded on the international scene in the way that fellow Germans Desaster or Nagelfar did. Due to personnel issues, the band broke up in 1998.

The 2009 self-titled EP is the source of this song, "Dawn of the Black Apocalypse"

Other than a re-release of the Magicus demo as a split with Baxaxaxa (a band that featured Condemptor and Ancient Blasphemic Grave Invocator) in 2002, there was silence from Ungod for many years. Then, in 2008, members of the band were approached by Kneel Before the Master's Throne Records about re-releasing 1993's Circle. This eventually led to the band re-forming with the original line-up fairly intact (new member Kvaltor was now their sole guitarist, however). Since re-forming, Ungod has been extremely prolific, putting out multiple full-length albums and continuing their tradition of collaborating on split albums with other underground bands.

An example of their recent sound, "Blessed by the Whore" is from their 2016 album, Bewitched by Sins and Lust

Select Discography:

Magicus Tallis Damnatio (demo) (1992)

Instrumental Rehearsal (demo) (1993)

Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts (full-length album) (1993)

Conquering What Was Once Ours EP (1995)

Renaissance of the Dark Arcade 7" (split with Cabal) (1995)

Aeon of Sunless Dominion 7" (split with Desaster) (1995)
Promo 1995 (demo) (1995)

Phallus Cult 7" (split with Sadistic Intent) (1998)

Ungod EP (2009)

Cloaked in Eternal Darkness (full-length album) (2011)

Bewitched by Sins and Lust (full-length album) (2016)

Next time: SATYRICON