The Ancient Whisper of Wisdom

"The Ancient Whisper of Wisdom" is a great little seven-inch from the old Greek death metal scene. There were several such bands in the early nineties, from the death/doom of Nightfall to the slumbering riffs of early Septic Flesh. Horrified seemed more progressive and innovative than their peers. This 1992 record is an early example of melody in death metal. The band used plenty of keyboards (beyond mere ambience), had melodic solos and even integrated some female (clean) vocals. They appeared to be following in the footsteps of what Paradise Lost had done on “Gothic”.

I'm sure that album was an influence, but Horrified also had a more complex and winding approach to song-writing than Paradise Lost. This record reminds me more of the other two big-names of UK death/doom (Anathema and My Dying Bride). Both those bands released fearsome death metal EPs in 1992. It also reminds me of the first Amorphis album, before that band overdid it with the keyboards. Horrified used melody in a similar way to Amorphis; to create a sense of 'journey' from riff to riff. These kinds of bands are difficult to classify in retrospect. How about 'melodic, atmospheric, dark, progressive death metal'? Horrified were at the vanguard of this style alongside those other names.

There are only two songs. They segue into one another and use similar riffs and phrases, and could be viewed as one ten-minute song. It never gets dull or repeats itself. The band retained their smart song-writing approach of their “Prophecy of Gore” demo, with intertwining sections delivered at a measured pace. The band sounds more melodramatic here, integrating more interesting ideas along the way. They may have lost some of their brutality and savagery, but they haven’t lost their edge. The drummer has scaled back his death metal beats and sometimes uses 'rock' beats (similar to early Amorphis and Paradise Lost). This might sound frustrating at first, but it allows the melodies to breathe.

This seven-inch might represent the sweet-spot for Horrified. It is more subtle than their earlier material, but darker and more earthy than their subsequent album ("In the Garden of the Unearthly Delights"). The production is deeper and more balanced too. This is the recording that represents the essence of the band. It is the one you need to hear if you want to understand what Horrified was all about. Fans of early Anathema, Amorphis, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost should add this one to their list.

Mostly famous for the huge amount of black metal bands, there were a small amount of death metal bands in Greece that were having their own unique twists to the style that you just couldn't find anywhere else in the world (and unfortunately would vanish in years to come). These bands being Septic Flesh, On Thorns I Lay and Horrified – a trinity of bands that approached death metal with a heavy dose of melancholy to it, while refraining from the doom/death paths plenty of other European bands would stumble upon.

While Septic Flesh would become most popular, it was actually Horrified who started playing this short-lived style. Definitely inspired by Paradise Lost’s Gothic in its contrasts between angelic feminine wails and gruff death roars, the band used several aspects to their advantage - yet managed to differentiate themselves from Septic Flesh. While angelic chants hover above tranquil acoustics and feather-light keys make their present welcome too, vivid images of ancient warfare come to mind in ‘’Seperial Dominion’’ – more so than ancient tragedies evoked on say, Mystic Places of Dawn. The production certainly plays a huge role in it: unlike plenty of early Greek extreme metal records, it doesn’t sound like a poor man’s job. Another plus includes the use of an actual drummer instead of a drum machine! You can tell these guys sounded more fluently because of that, especially when compared to the earlier works of Septic Flesh or again, Rotting Christ, so more power to them! (I will admit that stiffness did sort of fit the early Hellenic black metal sound though).

Although Horrified would their full length album In the Garden of the Unearthly Delights one year later, I find this EP rather superior to it. The Ancient Whisper of Wisdom just succeeds better at aiming for different contrasts and twists - lamented hymns always find their counterparts in oppressive waves riffing; as presented through ‘’Serperial Dominion’’, that opens up with folk-y bits and monstrous growls not unlike early (read: death metal era) Amorphis, before morphing back and forth between those aforementioned contrasts. ‘’Astral Submission’’ picks up where the aforementioned track left off and fades in like a majestic kingdom that one unexpectedly stumbles upon. Shimmering keyboards emerge around dynamic guitars, angelic wails and harsh grunts tell ancient tales. Musically this is yet another example of how far one could expand death metal while actually retaining the death metal segments to a certain degree (something that plenty of later bands would actually forget, sadly enough).

I should also mention that the cover artwork done for the reissue represents The Ancient Whisper of Wisdom much better than the original one - revealing the colorful qualities present here, whereas the original looks grim and foreboding. Nonetheless, this is a graceful, yet forceful EP and yet another example of something that originates all the way from Ancient Greece (read: Greece in the early 90’s).

Here's a very interesting 7" from the Greek band Horrified. What originally drew me to this band was their name. I assumed they took it from Repulsion, and that the music would be dirty death/grind along those lines as well. Well, this vinyl is quite on the opposite side of the spectrum because what Horrified offer here is two songs of atmospheric doom/death with keyboards, female vocals, etc. I rarely listen to this type of music, but I have to say that I was impressed with this EP... What's cool about this release is that it was clearly ahead of its time. It was recorded way back in 1992, when only a handful of other bands were experimenting with this style of metal. It wasn't until the mid and late 90's when thousands of bands like this began surfacing.

The 7" opens with "Seperial Dominion". Most of this song consists of doomy, melodic riffing in the trademark Greek style (Varathron, mid-era Rotting Christ); but it's when the amazing acoustic guitars and keyboards enter the picture where it becomes obvious that Horrified aren't just your typical clone band. There's some heavenly female vocals used in the song which are mixed in with deep death metal growls from a male singer. Many people believe that Theatre of Tragedy were the first to use this technique, but Horrified were already doing it in 1992 (and it sounds like they've been doing it for ages)! The male vocalist also uses an eerie whispering voice during parts of the track, which only accentuates the already dream-like environment created by the music. The drummer unleashes some heavy double bass kicking about mid-song, while the guitarist drowns the listener in unending melodic leads. The song slowly fades into silence...

As you flip the vinyl over, you expect an entirely new track; but "Astral Submersion" is actually a continuation of "Seperial..." and begins exactly where the latter left off. It's pretty cool how they did this. On this second part of the 7", the guitarwork is even more impressive. There's some very memorable and dreamy riffs of Katatonia caliber, along with the occasional faster, thrashy riffing reminiscent of latter-day Gothenburg bands. The production on the EP is flawless and I really have nothing bad to say about the sound. The bass guitar in particular sounds excellent!

Even if you're generally not into this type of atmospheric metal, give this 7" a listen sometime. As long as you have an open mind and can appreciate great musicianship, then you should enjoy this very much.