Of Rape and Vampirism (1997, Mordgrimm)
Lineup: Thegn Damieus "The Marauder" (guitars, moog/synth), The Lord Kaiaphas
(drums, keyboards, vocals)
Style: raw fast-paced black metal
A fast brutal album, utterly devoid of production values, just what a raw black metal release
should be. The two members manage to create a bleak atmosphere of aggression in vampyric metal
(which, however, has nothing in common with the eroticism of Cradle of Flith). My biggest
complaint is the unbalanced recording - the drums are way too loud (and sound like early Bathory
drums, in other words, like shit) and overwhelm the guitars and keyboards. The screetching
vocals are typical BM fare, nothing to get excited about. There is no melody to speak of, but
there's plenty of mood to satisfy the minimalist tendencies of a black metaller. The album
cover is cool but the chick isn't too impressive. The insert photo with the two band members
rising from the waters is much better, Kaiaphas is even truly scary in that B-movie cheap sort
of way.
Verdict: well, maybe not all hope is lost for US-brewed black metal
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