6-panel digipak, limited to 500 copies.
Tracks 1-7: "The Shining Trapezohedron" EP, 1993.
Tracks 8-19: "Shemhamforash" Full Length, 1995.
Roaming around the same area as bands such as Belphegor, Damnation (POL) and Luciferion, Amon (from Switzerland) gave the world an unholy mixture of old school black and death metal, with some added thrash elements. The band seems to be forgotten nowadays, but in my opinion, that's an undeserved fate for them. They were perhaps not the best act on that particular block, but I always found them solid enough in what they did.
Amon was around from 1991, so it's no lie to label them as a truly old school band, and they sound that way too. Combining within their sound elements from old school late 80's/early 90's death metal with those of the earlier black metal bands, Amon brews up a solid concoction of brutality and atmosphere. In the more fast and intense moments they have me thinking of early Morbid Angel and Deicide, with the earlier works of Samael and Master's Hammer shining through in the more atmospheric parts. For most part Amon relies on the use of adequate riffing to build their varied tracks around, showcasing elements of Slayer, Kreator and even Pestilence (from around "Testimony of the Ancients"). The combining factor in all of this are the growling vocals of a guy called Lothar, straying away from the raspy approach most black metal acts in 1995 were employing, establishing the fact once more that Amon was in it a lot longer than most black metal acts at the time. The music simply breathes old school vibes throughout, evidenced by the primitive accelerations, a copious use of death metal-tinged midtempo stomp and the thrash metal riffing. I would even dare to say that the at times somewhat uneven execution of the music also has its part in that vibe.
One thing they did have in common with other mid 90's black metal acts, is that the production leaves some to be desired. The guitars are tucked away behind the horrible sounding drum kit (I suspect an electronic one) and the gruff vocalisations, with the bass being somewhere in there too, I think. In its totality, it manages to avoid becoming a chaotic mess, but because of the lackluster sound of the guitars, a lot of the power gets sucked out of the music, and that's just a bleeding shame. This kind of music can be a total sonic powerhouse when sounding right, just check the first Belphegor album for proof of that, and on this album Amon got the wrong end of the stick, unfortunately.
I can dig Amon's music for sure, it's only such a waste that the iffy production neuters this album like that, just sucking out a lot of the power behind it. Equally a waste is that Amon never had the chance to redeem themselves, either. Seeing the nowadays popularity of acts like Behemoth and (again) Belphegor, they could've claimed a spot for themselves among them, I'm sure.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK2ggnNszVo&t=1025s
