Bal-Sagoth – A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria (1995)

Country: England

Tracklist

1. Hatheg Kla 01:59
2. Dreaming of Atlantean Spires 06:15
3. Spellcraft & Moonfire (Beyond the Citadel of Frosts) 07:10
4. A Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria 09:53
5. Enthroned in the Temple of the Serpent Kings 05:09
6. Shadows 'Neath the Black Pyramid 06:30
7. Witch-Storm 05:07
8. The Ravening 02:23
9. Into the Silent Chambers of the Sapphirean Throne (Sagas From the Antediluvian Scrolls) 08:27
10. Valley of Silent Paths 01:34

First album from Bal-Sagoth a band that incorporates Black-Death Metal influences and symphonic elements 

into an overall grandiose canvas, with the elaborate lyrics painting a picture of battles in an antediluvian age 

where Atlantis had not yet been destroyed and the continents were still joined in a Pangaean mass. 

A predominant feature is the use of epic keyboards played by Jonny Maudling who composes and arranges the music. 

The guitar, drums and keyboards work together as an integral entity rather like a symphonic work. 

The vocals of Byron Roberts are a mixture of spoken word and black-death metal screams 

making the songs more like stories set to music than anything else. 

Blodu Ok Jarna!

Memory

sToa – Urthona (1993)

Country: Germany

Tracklist

1. Candide 03:27
2. Autumn 03:28
3. Infant Joy 02:45
4. Spin 03:31
5. In Memoriam 05:04
6. Stoa 05:53
7. Captivity 03:16
8. Dust 03:44
9. (N)Ever 03:57
10. Taumel 05:00
11. Hommage 02:10

sToa was founded in 1991. Olaf Parusel (composition/arrangement) looked at this time 

for a new way to connect his musical and philosophical thoughts. He found a voice in Conny Levrow. 

In the same year the first song "Stoa" was released on the compilation "From Hypnotic ... to Hypersonic".
Both members worked a lot in other projects in the years before. 

Conny played the violin for more than ten years and performed in many orchestras. 

Besides this she sang in some classical choruses and as a soloist. 

She is familiar with barock and romantic compositions like G.F. Handel, E. Grieg or Pergolesi.
Olaf was in his childhood a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle" the oldest chorus of the world. 

Later he played in many musical projects and bands. He also composed for TV. He studied musicology and philosophy.
The CD "Urthona" (Hyperium) released in 1993. This was one of the most influential albums 

for the (from the label Hyperium so called) heavenly voices style.

Memory

Test Dept. – The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom (1986)

Country: England

Tracklist

1. Fuckhead 05:37
2. 51st State Of America 04:04
3. Comrade Enver Hoxha 05:00
4. Fist 03:35
5. Statement 04:24
6. The Crusher 04:04
7. Victory 04:09
8. Corridor Of Cells 07:58
9. The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom - Face 1 04:22
10. The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom - Face 2 05:30
11. The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom - Face 3 06:40

Test Dept were an industrial music group from London, one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by a strong commitment to radical socialist politics.
The group formed in the London suburb of New Cross in 1981.
Their discography spans a wide variety of influences and styles, including a collaboration with the South Wales Striking Miners Choir in support of the miners' strike of 1984. They were particularly notable for complex and powerful percussion,
as well as high-energy live performances. Like the German band Einsturzende Neubauten, with whom they are often compared, Test Dept used unconventional instruments such as scrap metal and industrial machinery as sound sources. However, Test Dept's use of these objects was far more rhythmic than was Neubauten's,
and was often accompanied by film and slide shows. The group were noted for large-scale events in unusual site-specific locations, such as Waterloo station, Cannon Street station, Stirling Castle
and the disused St Rollox Railway Works in Glasgow.
The Unacceptable Face of Freedom is a collaboration between Test Dept (sound) and Malcom Poynter (visuals) whose sculptures formed the basis for the award winning album cover.
His work used toy soldiers and guns to sculpt large scale figures such as 'Horsemen of the Apocalypse'.
The album was praised by a music reviewer for The New York Times, claiming the album was notable
for a "sophisticated use of sound-collage techniques and the helter-skelter momentum of its cyclical rhythms".
In later years the band's music became less industrial and took on many of the properties of techno.
The band split up in 1997, but its former members have continued to work in the fields of art and culture.
Tracks 9 - 11 originally released as a 12" Vinyl, as remixes of track 1.

Memory