Otus Scops – Les Neiges Éternelles (Demo 1994)

Country: Austria

Tracklist

1. Myth 07:25
2. Everlasting Snow 13:08
3. Myth (Bonus Instrumental Version) 07:25
4. Everlasting Snow (Bonus Instrumental Version) 13:08

Mostly known for the involvement of Renaud Tschirner (Elend, ex-Korovakill etc.),

the band was created around 1992 and had continuously faced line-up problems.
The core trio of keyboards/synths, violin/vocals and drums, untypical for any metal band,

was finally completed by a permanent guitar player in 1993.
From the start, the electric violin used heavy distortion, as a guitar substitute,

and the synths provided the base of the band's sound.
In 1993 with the addition of Roland Wurzer (Darkwell) on bass guitar, Otus Scops set the foundations of a strong line up.
A few concerts were played in 1994, and following the release of the first Elend album 

one month prior to the recording of “Les Neiges Éternelles”,

the band thought the time was convenient for finally trying to secure a record deal.
Two compositions that best captured their sound were selected for this recording.
Unfortunately, they were over a year old by that time 

and what once must have sounded extremely original had certainly lost most of its appeal by late 1994.
The distorted violin, which had surely contributed to Otus Scops’s originality,

was completely dropped for this recording and all concerts during this last phase in the band’s existence.
The violin still plays from start to finish on both compositions, making massive use of various effects, 

but due to the two guitars, which could provide the continuous stereo low end brutality a single guitar and violin could not,

no violin distortion was deemed necessary any longer.
Also the rudimentary recording conditions did certainly not help

at a time when bands generally went into a professional recording studio even for their demos.
No serious record label seemed to be interested, so the band finally dissolved after one more gig was played in early 1995, with the musicians either moving to their main bands, abandoning their instrument, or venturing into other genres.

Memory