En Nihil – Death Keeps (1997)

Country: United States

Tracklist

1. Final Bliss (Edit) 08:58
2. Blood + Bone 14:57
3. Fall 07:35
4. Open Your Eyes And See Death 12:41
5. Drift III 13:38

En Nihil (originally under the name Nihil) formed in 1994, in California, by Adam Fritz 

and over the course of 3 years from 1994 to 1997 created a substantial amount of music 

stretching into every subgenre of the experimental realm. 

Everything from tribal rhythms, ethereal drifts, dark ambient, chaotic harsh noise, death industrial, 

cut-up sound collages, field recordings and so on, all of them with a dark, emotional side 

ranging from minimalism to detailed, heavily layered and intricate productions to pure improvisation.
"Death Keeps" articulates a deep fascination with death, not the physical, but the emotional aspect 

and the fear of the most inevitable fate we will all share.
The album was recorded between October 1995 - October 1996 and released by Red Stream in 1997.
After 13 years of silence, En Nihil returned to recording in 2010, 

and has since unleashed a stream of albums, cassette releases and splits.

Memory

Dolorian ‎– When All The Laughter Has Gone (1999)

 

Country: Finland

Tracklist

1. Desolated Colours 07:19
2. My Weary Eyes 08:22
3. A Part Of Darkness 06:24
4. When All The Laughter Has Gone 05:52
5. Collapsed 09:18
6. Fields 04:45
7. With Scorn / Perish 11:11

Dolorian is a doom metal band from Oulu, Finland.

Their early recordings are viewed as some of the earliest examples of blackened doom metal.

Later recordings mixed dark ambient music with the traditional doom metal style.
The band was founded in mid-1997 as a duo consisting of Anti Haapapuro and Ari Kukkohovi.

Their combination of varied songs, structures and melodies, several vocal styles, 

and obscure spiritual lyrics set the band apart from many others in their genre.
Dolorian recorded their first demos in autumn 1997 at Tico-Tico Studios with temporary keyboard player H. Riihinen.

They were subsequently signed with Wounded Love Records.

In 1998 the band along with their new keyboard player J. Ontero, 

recorded the debut album "When All The Laughter Has Gone" that was released in 1999.
The following year, the band recorded their second album entitled "Dolorian".
The self-titled album was a continuation of the black doom sound of their debut 

with much quieter vocals and a more psychedelic and ambient approach.
In 2002, Dolorian recorded songs for a split release with Shining, but record label problems delayed its release until 2003.

In 2006, the band released their third album, "Voidwards",

which demonstrated a further shift in their sound and included the usage of dark ambient elements.
All the members of the band are involved in dark ambient projects (such as Arktau Eos, Halo Manash, 

Aeoga and I.corax, as well in the 90's melodic black metal band Black Swan), 

which has likely shifted their concentration away from Dolorian.

Memory

Decree – Wake Of Devastation (1997)

 

Country: Canada

Tracklist

1. Delusion 04:27
2. The Last Day 04:29
3. Who Dares? 03:02
4. Fire Of Offering 05:04
5. Madness Unveiled 03:22
6. Talons Grasp 05:43
7. Never Nearer 04:35
8. Darkness Visible 06:20
9. Downward 04:28
10. Bitter End 04:45

Decree is a Vancouver based act currently consisting of Chris Peterson (Front Line Assembly, Delerium, Will), 

Ross Redhead and Sean Lawson.
This is the second incarnation of the band which was founded in 1991 by Peterson and John McRae, 

culminating in the duo's 1996 album, "Wake Of Devastation" that was released on Decibel Records and Offbeat Records.
1997 turned out to be a year of change for Decree as the original line up parted ways opening the door for Sean Lawson (vocalist) and Ross Redhead (guitar, bass, noise) to join Chris Peterson (keyboards) in Decree.
Throughout the following years tracks for a second album were recorded during brief periods of inactivity in between Chris’s obligations with the bands Frontline Assembly, Noise Unit, Pro-tech and Delerium. 

In 2004 "Moment Of Silence" was released on Metropolis Records in North America and Minuswelt/Musik Fabrik in Europe.

Decree's sound has varied a lot over the space of two albums.
"Wake Of Devastation" reminds at times Test Dept. with harsh dark ambient/noise/drone influences.

Their second offering, "Moment Of Silence" brings both beats and guitars into the mix that varies from drum and bass break beats to harder industrial metal-influenced pieces, with less in the way of the noisy drones.
Their third offering was the long awaited album "Fateless" which was released on May 2011 on Art Of Fact Records.

Once again Chris Peterson has managed to build a wall of pounding rhythms and angry noise industrial 

that expands on the sound of prior Decree releases while retaining the vision and sonic values 

that have earned the well deserved reputation as one of the heaviest bands in the industrial music genre.

Memory