Vinyl

White/black marble vinyl

3LP triple-gatefold sleeve incl. a huge 24-page 12” booklet including an in-depth interview with Tomas „Samoth“ Haugen and many never seen before pictures.
An double-sided A2 poster will be added to every vinyl too.

Revealing Emperors’ dark past…

Founded by Samoth and Ihsahn in 1991, EMPEROR became widely acclaimed for their innovation and sophistication. They unquestionably rank among Black Metal’s most seminal bands. Throughout their exceptional career, they released landmark albums that will forever belong to the genre’s canon. Given EMPEROR’s status and popularity, it may then come as a surprise to some that this legendary band was a side-project of the Norwegian duo. This is especially true given that, at the time that EMPEROR was established, Samoth and Ihsahn’s main band was THOU SHALT SUFFER.

Although quite a short-lived entity and bound to forever dwell in the shadows of its members’ celebrated offshoot, the material which had spawned under the name THOU SHALT SUFFER is notable and worth being paid attention to. Even though the three recordings which comprises of a five-track-rehearsal, the EP Open The Mysteries Of Your Creation, and the demo Into The Woods Of Belial that the horde managed to unleash in 1991, are no less dark than what EMPEROR came up with subsequently, THOU SHALT SUFFER weren’t a Black Metal band, but were sworn to Death Metal of a distinctly tenebrous nature. Like many Norwegian bands, including IMMORTAL, ENSLAVED, BORKNAGAR, and HADES ALMIGHTY – who began as Death Metal acts under different names in the late 1980s and early 1990s before shifting towards Black Metal, Ihsahn and Samoth, aided by various members, (most infamously Ildjarn on bass), cut their teeth in a Death Metal outfit. It is sonically somewhat comparable to the earliest period of DARKTHRONE, PARADISE LOST, SENTENCED and the like when all of them still played Death Metal, and with some hints of CARCASS, which are especially audible in the fast parts, THOU SHALT SUFFER put to tape some great Death Metal darkness of lasting quality.

Despite the members being very young at the time the recordings were done, the tracks are proficiently composed and competently performed. They frequently shift between doomy, mid-tempo, and fast sections that are accompanied by Ihsahn’s morbid growls, which have nothing in common with his high shrieks that he would later be known for. This, plus some obscure keyboards on top, which adds a sombre layer to the compositions, the band were able to turn their music into a mandatory feast for devotees of dark Metal.

Darkness Shall Rise is very proud to present this re-release, which features the three recordings that THOU SHALT SUFFER had released during their short lifespan. As usual, we went to great lengths to turn this re-release into something out of the ordinary. Not only was all the music mastered for vinyl to achieve the best sound by Patrick W. Engel, but we didn’t spare any effort to create a thick booklet featuring old pictures, of which many are unpublished, and a lengthy interview with Samoth. Also for this release, the band has opened their vault and for the VERY FIRST TIME EVER, obscure material prior to THOU SHALT SUFFER has been exclusively featured. Namely XERASIA with rare rehearsal tracks from 1990, EMBRYONIC rehearsal tracks, and the official EMBRYONIC demo The Land of The Lost Souls from 1990.

Pressed on transparent black heavy vinyl w/ yellow swirl. Side D contains no music. Comes with a 2-page insert and a download card. Colors on final records may vary to a degree from the mockup.

The sublime 4th full length from UK avant-Black/Death Metal band LYCHGATE advances the kinetic potency of their 2020 DMP-debut EP, "Also sprach Futura", to a frightening level of mind-mangling intensity.

"Precipice" is progressive Extreme Metal plummeting inside a black hole: scorching, twisted and transfixing. The band have upped both the dystopic prog-Death quotient and their sense of experimentation, moving with formidable, mechanised poise and a surrealist’s sense of dread.

Black Vinyl

7th studio album of the most influential black metal band of all time.
"Liturgy of Death" delivers over 45 minutes of brand-new music and doubles as a long-awaited 40th anniversary celebration, tracing the band’s legacy since their formation in Oslo in 1984 and reaffirming their status as the pioneering force of the global black metal scene

• Hellish jazz-inflected metal
• Features virtuoso bass playing split between Damon Good (Mournful Congregation, Stargazer, Cauldron Black Ram), and Ben Ricci
• Drums by Dylan Marks, Atheist live drummer
• For fans of Stargazer, Pestilence, Chthe’ilist, Morbid Angel, Immolation, The Chasm, Aenigmatum, Atheist, Timeghoul

Julinko, stage name for Giulia Parin Zecchin, has long been one of the best kept secrets of the experimental community in North-East Italy, with three records that helped define her unique blend of heavy psychedelia, slowcore and dark ambient. On ‘Naebula’ what really stands out is how powerful and soaring her voice is, a weapon of undeniable force that can transform into a vessel of raw fervour or glide effortlessly as a delicate lament. Her unconventional approach shines through on tracks like ‘Jeanne De Rien’, where a marching pulse acts as a pillar for an extended mantra, almost verging into powwow territory. ‘Peace Of The Unsaid’ uses its arrhythmical structure to create space, a crepuscular night ode that reaches the heights of Sinead O’Connor’s most intimate force-fulness while retaining a sweet composure. Whether it’s glacial murderous shrieks or gospel-esque vitality, songs like ‘Cloudmachine’ or ‘Kiss The Lion’s Tongue’ seem to draw as much from a tradition of European minimalism, the use of drones and repetition, to the tradition of folksongs as hymns, where modal harmonies make way for an apparent stasis. Another key element in Julinko’s songwriting is the seamless blend of her minimalistic approach with these dense textures borrowed from a distant outsider metal heritage, Lynchean noir on steroids or wordless exorcisms with deep undercurrents.  

Written and performed entirely by Julinko, ‘Naebula’‘s incantations unravel and spiral creating the perfect soundtrack for obsession, desire and contemplation, a world inhabited by greats like Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galás and Jarboe, diverse artists all driven by the quest for the purest and most crystalline form of catharsis.

Olde Throne is a melodic and atmospheric black metal band born in a time when main composer and frontman Harrison McKenzie was living in Glencoe, Scotland. Even after moving back to his native New Zealand, McKenzie felt deeply inspired by his experience in the highlands, and this project was the result of such inspiration. Olde Throne released two studio albums under this monicker, An Gorta Mór (2022) and In the Land of Ghosts (2023). Two years later, the man from Christchurch signs with Italian long-standing label Avantgarde Music to release their third full-length album, Megalith.

Two years in its creation, Megalith is a primal journey into the depths of prehistory. Where previous albums explored the strife of 19th-century Ireland (An Gorta Mór) and the spectral lore of 17th- and 18th-century Scotland (In the Land of Ghosts), Megalith delves into the primordial darkness of the Neolithic age. Drawing inspiration from stories of Celtic mythology, the album’s narrative is rooted in tales dating back as far as 10,000 BC. The use of flutes, throat singing and tribal drums forges an immersive brand of Neolithic Black Metal.

100 copies limited - black double vinyl in gatefold cover

NEW AND UNPLAYED BUT arrived from supplier with a sliight corner dent

Vinyl: Mint 

Sleeve: VG+

Vinyl: MINT

Sleeve: VG+

1st press

Grey With Black Marbling [Smoky Grey]

Three years after their fascinating debut, Suicide Forest is back with Reluctantly, a sophomore album which further develops their art. Taking their name from the Japanese Aokigahara forest, where many troubled 
people travel to end their life, the one-man band from Tucson, Az., moves from classic depressive black metal coordinates and expands their sound palette. As a result, Reluctantly settles somewhere in between DSBM, atmospheric black metal and post-black/blackgaze.
The perfect company for restless souls, Reluctantly reminds of the eerie keyboard patterns of Burzum and the dilated atmospheres of contemporary US black metal pillars like Ash Borer, mixed with some unpredictable twists such as dissonant riffs and solos. Suicide Forest will please both those looking for furious up-tempos and the more introvert blacksters, looking for a sanctuary from the outside world.
Multi-instrumentalist and mastermind A.Kruger wrote Reluctantly in the second half of 2019, before the pandemic struck us all, but began tracking the album at his home studio in early 2020. About the lyrics, when asked what themes inform his work, he plainly replied: The whole album focuses
on the themes of resent and isolation, feelings that were only compounded considering the entirety of Reluctanlty was recorded during the covid-19 lockdown”.

This EP was part of the set:   "The cursed Singles"

It was never meant to be sold individually.

Sleeve:  VG+  Vinyl: unplayed, VG++ with some dust