BLASPHEMY Archives - Bruder Des Lichts

Today, Nuclear War Now! Productions sets February 15th as the international release date for Death Worship‘s highly anticipated second EP, End Times, on 12″ vinyl format.

With its highly anticipated debut recording, Extermination Mass, Death Worship emerged in 2016 to write the next chapter in the storied legacy of the Ross Bay Cult. Whereas many bands over the years have striven to claim a position atop the mantle of bestial black metal, the incomparable lineage of Death Worship’s members and the pitiless assault on the feebleness of human existence as evidenced in this first recording confirmed it as one truly worthy of such a distinction.

Now, approximately two years later, Death Worship returns with its second siege, End Times, which ominously portends the finality to which all mankind will succumb. The perpetrators of this attack are the same as on Extermination Mass. Specifically, ‘Deathlord of Abomination and War Apocalypse’ (aka R. Förster) has once again enlisted the services of J. Read on session percussion, and ‘Nocturnal Grave Desecrater and Black Winds’ eagerly offered his own legendary war commands to back those of Förster and his bludgeoning guitar and bass offenses.

Although these supporting members have been directly involved in Förster’s lifelong trajectory in black metal through their joint collaborations in Conqueror and Blasphemy, Death Worship is the creative progeny of Förster himself. As he stated in an interview following the initial release of Extermination Mass, this entity is best interpreted as his own brainchild moving forward in the aftermath of Conqueror’s split, at which time Read similarly forged his own unique path with Revenge.

While it is clear that Förster’s involvement in Conqueror and Blasphemy contributed greatly in shaping this vision, this latter project represents a sound that Förster envisaged and a creation that he has incrementally cultivated since he first picked up a guitar decades ago. In Conqueror, the Superion was seen as a potential to rise above the weaknesses and scourge of humanity at large. In Death Worship, that glimmer of optimism is no longer present, which brings us to End Times. The tangible product itself is one that reflects no superfluous experimentation with sound or alien influences from other genres. Instead, it is simply the manifestation of the most purely extreme black metal, inspired by I.N.R.I.-era Sarcófago, Blasphemy, early Beherit (and The Lord Diabolus), early Slayer, Hellhammer, and early Bathory. In order to properly achieve this goal, and in keeping with the traditions of the Ross Bay Cult, Fiasco Brothers Studio in Vancouver, Canada was chosen as the site for its audial incarnation.

Given the increasingly nihilistic state of affairs into which humankind has descended, so it is written that End Times shall serve as the appropriate soundtrack to its demise.

In the meantime, hear the new track “The Poisoned Chalice”

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Death Worship’s End Times
1. Stand Witness to Atrocity
2. The Poisoned Chalice
3. Slaughtersiege
4. Masters and Monolith

www.nwnprod.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Nuclear-War-Now-Productions/114864651994141

Following the recent reissue campaign, Nuclear War Now! Productions is honored to present the first official release of a rarely heard 1989 rehearsal recording, Blood Upon the Soundspace.

This crude open-air mic recording captures the unvarnished vigor of Blasphemy in a way that the contemporaneous studio recordings cannot. The rehearsal took place in Blasphemy’s practice space sometime following the release of the Blood Upon the Altar demo as the Desecraters were writing material that would later appear on the 1990 debut LP, Fallen Angel of Doom. Four of the five tracks feature songs that would be recorded for the album, with “War Command” being the only exception.

The live performance of these tracks in the band’s rehearsal space is devastating and showcases a side of Blasphemy that many have never previously heard. The unified front of the instrumentation—the blunt force of Black Winds’ bass assault, the wicked precision of Black Priest’s rhythm guitar, Black Hearts’ furious drumming—is undeniably powerful. Black Winds’ raw vocals, raspier than on the studio recordings, drive the intensity of the performance, while Caller’s renegade solos are characteristically unhinged and frantic.

The band only produced a handful of these rehearsal tapes for distribution to close associates. This version of the recording is taken from a tape Black Winds sent to Metalion (Slayer Magazine) in May of 1989—one of the only known extant copies—and is newly mastered by James Plotkin to enhance the audio where possible. (Note that the first track, “Darkness Prevails,” is noticeably more distorted than the rest of the recording.) To maintain the authenticity of this release, the cover features original artwork created in 1988 by Black Priest and screenshots taken from a video recording at the Blasphemy rehearsal space during the same era