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Abigail has been a staple in the roster of Nuclear War Now! since its earliest days nearly twenty years ago. In addition to multiple albums and EPs, the label released a collection of early EPs and the band’s contribution to a split, entitled “The Lord of Satan.” Now NWN! and Abigail conspire once again to further proliferate the spread of the band’s earliest material with the release of “Blasphemy Night.” This collection, presented on vinyl LP format, includes both “Demo 1” from 1992 and the “Blasphemy Night” demo from 1993. These tracks document the band’s original sound, which is best characterized as an unpolished, abrasive variety of black metal, in contrast to the sharper, more thrash-oriented sort that has resulted from the band’s evolution. As such, it is an essential addition to any Abigail fan’s collection and, more generally, to anyone who celebrates the true spirit of black metal.

The relationship between Abigail and NWN! goes back to the 2002 vinyl release of the band’s first album, “Intercourse and Lust.” Since that time, Abigail and NWN! have each mutated into different beasts; however, the relationship between these two forces has remained intact through the years. To honor the nearly 20 year legacy of Abigail, NWN! is proud to present this vinyl collection of some of the band’s earliest work. Along with pioneers Sabbat and Sigh, Abigail have long been recognized as among the most influential Black Metal bands to have emerged from beneath the banner of the Rising Sun. While, in recent years, Abigail has shifted its focus to a more depraved blackened thrash sound, the early work presented on this LP is pure Black Metal played in a manner that is harsh and hostile. This LP opens with the five Abigail tracks featured on the band’s 1995 split CD with Funeral Winds. This material, which has never before been released on vinyl, displays the characteristic wickedness that permeates all of Abigail’s work. These tracks are not merely excursions in sound, however. Each song stands out on its own and the work as a whole evinces a sophisticated level of composition and production. Side B of this LP contains the tracks from Abigail’s first two EP releases. Nearly impossible to find now, “Descending from a Blackened Sky” and “Confound Eternal” contain some of Abigail’s most powerful and blackened revelations. The 1993 “Descending from a Blackened Sky” EP, executed entirely by Yasuyuki, is a magnificent breath of annihilation. Guided by furious and relentless blast beats, Yasuyuki’s style on this EP is more harsh and raw than most of Abigail’s other work. Yet, as with all Abigail recordings, amid the chaos there are well-crafted riffs and song structures that draw the listener deep into the demonic frenzy of the songs.

As it did with its first album, “Man, God, Giant,” in 2013, Katechon of Trondheim, Norway hereby releases its second full-length, “Coronation,” under the banner of Nuclear War Now! Musically speaking, “Coronation” picks up much where the previous album left off, having also been recorded at Nordstern and mixed, mastered, and produced by the band itself. Katechon’s music is characterized by precise, tremolo-attacking riffs, reminiscent of their Norwegian ancestors, Mayhem and Thorns. There are also hints of Autopsy’s brand of punk-infused death metal, both in the rhythmic patterns employed and the vocals, which oftentimes remind of the death grunts made famous by Chris Reifert, albeit here with more of a black metal influence. As with “Man, God, Giant,” Katechon has once again chosen the talents of artist Mari Oseland to portray its visual aesthetic. Nonetheless, there are noticeable differences between the two albums that enable them both to stand apart on their own individual merits. Whereas the songs on the first album were generally somewhat more straightforward and easily-digested, as well as a bit shorter, “Coronation” places a greater demand on the listener by invoking more dissonance, atonality, and a higher degree of intricacy in its compositions. Thematically speaking, “Man, God, Giant” was more metaphysical and philosophical in nature, complete with Lovecraftian creatures and images. In contrast, “Coronation” explores the autonomy of self – on the one hand alone, but on the other thriving in its complete freedom from society’s imposed norms, rules and doctrines. This album embraces the sickness and delirium that are prone to infect the imperfect being’s mind, and it prefers to proclaim Nietzsche a coward by instead staring directly into the abyss and diving right in.

The word “katechon” refers to the restraining force or entity tethering the Antichrist, and thus maintaining equipoise between existence and annihilation. Sonically and conceptually, Katechon exhibits the control, power, and restraint associated with the theological concept giving rise to the band’s name. At this point in the lineage of extreme metal, the lines between the various subgenres are nearly indistinguishably blurred. Bands emerging at this stage are almost certainly influenced by Black, Death, and Thrash metal in relatively equal parts in addition to drawing influence from genres outside the traditional spectrum of metal. This amorphous state, has led many bands to retreat into strict rehashing of formulaic retro approaches. Katechon, however, embraces the entropic merging of stylistic and aesthetic projections from the various branches of the genre and beyond. Under scrutiny since the release of its demo last year, Norway’s Katechon now presents its debut full-length recording. “Man, God, Giant” reinforces the sound presented on Katechon’s previous recordings*, but features superb production that amplifies the impact of the tracks. Each of the three songs featured on the demo is reworked and incorporated into the album. Katechon’s sound is an amalgamation of Black, Death, and Thrash metal, but played with a precision and authenticity that avoids dilution. Instead the result is frenetic and possessed, devoid of theatrics and self-indulgent virtuosity, and features highly proficient and intricate songwriting executed with precision. With philosophically oriented lyrics and adorned with an esoteric and surreal visual aesthetic, “Man, God, Giant” presents a unique vision for the future direction of metal in which an equilibrium must be maintained between rote rehashing of past trends and the indiscriminate collision of clashing styles and sounds. Katechon rests perfectly at this equilibrium point, holding at bay the forces of dissolution.

LP 1.  A Voiceless Ritual Live Album 2013 Clear vinyl

LP 2. Parisian Sessions / Rehearsal I DEMO 2013 Azure transparent vinyl

LP 3. Duo Experience / Spectral Affinities EP 2013  Green transparent vinyl

Individual songs tend to abruptly alternate between blisteringly-fast and hypnotically-languid tempos. In combination with the unsettling effect of these contrasting tempo shifts, the riffs further disorient the listener with their unyielding and cyclical progressions among atonal, tremolo-picked chords and dissonantly arpeggiated sequences of notes.
 

Prodotto nuovo ma con lieve difetto dovuto al trasporto (un angolo della copertina leggermente gibollata: il danno è trascurabile)

Golden Vinyls.

To understand the defining traits of Greek Black Metal, one need only to listen to “The Tressrising of Nyarthotep” by the mighty Varathron. This track, first appearing on the “genesis of Apocryphal Desire” demo, possesses all of the victorious grandeur and tragic melancholia that are the essence of the early 1990’s Greek Black Metal sound. Along with contemporary releases by Rotting Christ and Necromantia, Varathron’s demo material firmly established a style that is thoroughly Grecian in character. Thick with a damp and heavy Hellenistic darkness, Varathron explored a sound that was infused with the epic and the ancient. As with so much of the most evocative and potent Black Metal, the ancient currents are revealed through the expression of the modern. Varathron’s music is as mystical as it is visceral. The recordings on this compilation comprise the earliest seeds of what would become one of the greatest bands in the history of the genre. This collection contains all of Varathron’s work leading the band toward the creation of their monumental debut LP, “His Majesty at the Swamp.” The two demos, “Procreation of the Unaltered Evil” and “Genesis of Apocryphal Desire” reveal the steps that Varathron took that would later come to fruition on their first album. This collection also contains the more refined tracks that were utilized on their first vinyl releases – the “One Step Beyond Dreams“ EP and “The Everlasting Sins” tracks from the split LP with Necromantia – and three additional bonus tracks recorded during the early years. As with the forthcoming Rotting Christ demo collection that NWN! will soon release, the songs on this compilation of Varathron’s early recordings reveal the painstaking emergence of a band’s identity. Absorbed in the context of early works by Varathron’s Greek contemporaries, one also witnesses the development of a sound uniquely specific to a geographic region, so specific, in fact, that it is impossible to imagine such a multidimensional approach to Black Metal originating anywhere else. Both the Regular and Die Hard editions of this release will feature gatefold jackets with artwork by Manuel Tinnemans and layout by Tilmann Benninghaus as well as a 48 page zine booklet. The Die Hard edition will also come with a separate LP (with jacket) featuring the “Live at the Swamp” demo material. Originally released on tape in 2004, “Live at the Swamp” features a live recording and rehearsal recording from 1991. These recordings have been remastered and cleaned up by James Plotkin and the sound quality on this LP, although still quite raw, is markedly better than the original tape version.

clear yellow vinyl – 100 made  
 

Fan Club Release. "Legion" tour.

Live City Square, MILANO December 9th, 1992.
Verify this album has been brough to you by those who are hiding in the dark.
Vinyl mastering executed in the shadow of the Great Pentagram. Special thanks to Gnozzy, Arja and the three Stooges.
Made in Singapore

If you want your old school metal to be something more than just blastbeat after blastbeat and vocals something more than muddy growling, TRAMALIZER is the right poison.