An ode to the mighty hellenic black metal with the classic EP from 93+ the promo 96.
First time on Tape and limited to 150 copies
"Paradise of the Infernal Torment" is probably the most unknown piece in my Greek metal collection, which is a damn shame. The band “Darkest Oath” only released this EP back in 1994 and a demo two years later. Their short existence was probably the main reason for their obscurity in the metal realm. The EP has two tracks with an overall length of 10 minutes. Yeah, that definitely isn’t much, but it shows a band, which had great promise in the mid-90s.
“Ceremonial Whisper of the Ancient Goat” is the introducing track and it’s immediately recognizable as Hellenic Metal; the obscure atmosphere, flutes and guitar melodies are a trademark for the Greek sound. The first few seconds of the track sound like the band’s country mates “Kawir” but all of a sudden blastbeats and a fast tremolo picked single-note guitar line appear out of nowhere with a repetitive lead on top, more resembling the fastest moments of the early Varathron demos. The Kawir-esque folkish synths reappear several times later in the track. Overall, a great display of the band’s songwriting talent which is only tainted by the rather awkward acoustic middle break were a few notes on the guitar sound so wrong and out of tune that it hurts the ears – they were clearly trying to pull off an old Satyricon/Agatus-like folk break here, but obviously that didn’t quite work out.
The second song “Visions Through My Infernal Dreams” shows more melody in the guitar work but with added aggression in the dual-vocal attack. The background synths are omnipresent and always manage to add a healthy dose of atmosphere to the music. Repetition is the driving element here, as many of the riffs tend to repeat themselves very often, but instead of riff variation, the band included a few ripping solos, which was rather unusual for the local scene; very fast tapping and a nice bit of shredding show that these guys had a lot of skill going for them.
“Paradise of the Infernal Torment” was recorded in the famous Storm studio by the well-known producer George “The Magus” Zaharopoulos (Necromantia, ex-Rotting Christ) and their (in?)famous drum-machine sound clearly shows that. In the studio’s early days, they couldn’t afford professional drum recording and therefore they used the machine for various band’s recordings (Varathron, Rotting Christ, Necromantia, etc.).
Even though they recorded this in the then-fertile Storm studio, the band vanished into obscurity. Fortunately, what they left behind with “Paradise of the Infernal Torment” is a more than rock-solid EP with two must have songs for Hellenic black metal lovers.
Sample:
Darkest Oath - Paradise Of The Infernal TormentSample:
DARKEST OATH - PROMO TAPE 1996 (Original sound).
