Preordine

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.

Hard cardboard box containing the cds & some goodles

+ The Saga Of The Horned King - digisleeve cd w/booklet
+ Dreamquest - digisleeve cd w/booklet
+ Portraits - digisleeve cd w/booklet
+ Ancient Abbey - digisleeve cd w/booklet
+ De Bello Gallico - digisleeve cd w/booklet
+ Relics - digisleeve cd w/booklet

+ Enamel metal shaped pin
+ Golden logo-shaped patch
+ 30 pages A4 fanzine with full story and interviews (english Language)
+ Exclusive Postcards

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

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

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

Hailing from the atmospheric landscapes of Iceland, Gísli Gunnarsson is a visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist whose artistry transcends boundaries. Remaining rooted in modern classical, his music draws inspiration from various other genres such as post-rock, black metal, and shoegaze.

Gunnarsson’s newest record ‘Úr Öskunni’ is full of contrasts and represents a recent chapter in the composer’s life. Iceland’s raw beauty is an awe-inspiring to the eye, but the forces that shaped the island remain a real peril for the inhabitants

Crowned by the masterful artwork of Daniele Valeriani (Behemoth, Candlemass, Mayhem, Dark Funeral, Triptykon) and sonically woven into perfection by Christoph Brandes // Iguana Studios (The Spirit, Imperium Dekadenz, Necrophagist), the album rises as a tempest—raw, relentless, and animalistic in its intensity.

Julinko, nome d’arte di Giulia Parin Zecchin, è da tempo uno dei segreti meglio custoditi della scena sperimentale del nord-est italiano, con tre dischi che hanno contribuito a definire la sua inconfondibile mescolanza di heavy psychedelia, slowcore e dark ambient. In Naebula ciò che colpisce davvero è la potenza e l’intensità della sua voce, un’arma di forza innegabile, capace di trasformarsi in un mezzo di fervore grezzo o librarsi con grazia in un delicato lamento. Il suo approccio non convenzionale risplende in brani come ‘Jeanne De Rien’, dove una cadenza ritmica da marcia funge da colonna sonora portante per un lungo mantra che sfiora quasi il territorio del powpow. ‘Peace Of The Unsaid’ sfrutta la propria struttura aritmica per creare spazio, un’ode notturna e crepuscolare che raggiunge le vette della forza intima di Sinéad O’Connor, pur mantenendo una dolce compostezza. Che si tratti di urla glaciali e assassine o di una vitalità dal tono quasi gospel, brani come ‘Cloudmachine’ o ‘Kiss The Lion’s Tongue’ sembrano attingere tanto alla tradizione del minimalismo europeo, con l’uso dei droni e della ripetizione, quanto a quella dei canti popolari come inni, dove armonie modali cedono il passo a un’ apparente stasi. Un altro elemento chiave nella scrittura di Julinko è la fusione impeccabile fra il suo approccio minimalista e quelle trame dense ereditate da un lontano retaggio di outsider metal, un noir lynchiano spinto all’estremo o esorcismi senza parole attraversati da correnti profonde. 

Scritto e interpretato interamente da Julinko, ‘Naebula’ dispiega e avvolge i suoi incantesimi in spirali sonore creando la colonna sonora perfetta per ossessione, desiderio e contemplazione, un mondo abitato da grandi come Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galás e Jarboe, artiste diverse ma tutte guidate dalla ricerca della più pura e cristallina forma di catarsi.