...Taur-nu-Fuin...

Infernum was a Polish black metal project between 3 members of Graveland, that only had two demos and 2 albums. There isn't too much that I know or can find out about this band besides that. The 2 albums being spaced apart by a decade and a year, this release came on cassette in 1994 and the next year on CD, and is a pretty good example of mid 90's black metal. These 3 crafted a pretty chilling atmosphere, with the help of keyboards and ended up making a pretty decent album. The heavy usage of keyboards is something I like in black metal, hence why some of my favorite bands are Blut Aus Nord, Gehenna and Emperor. So today, we'll be taking a look at Infernum's debut album from 1994, the bands only full length for over a decade, "...Taur-Nu-Fuin"

This album keeps a constant focus on using the keyboards as the main component of creating a sinister and cold atmosphere. That being said, the album rarely deviates from the 90's black metal formula. Shrill vocals, cold guitars and a heavy focus on sounding as evil as possible. The best tracks to me are the "In The Black Clouds of War" and "Gammadion" these two tracks best exemplify what the album does well at doing. The atmosphere made on both of these songs are great, from the choirs of the previously mentioned opener, and Gammadion's section of the sound of men singing cleanly and crows flying around cawing. The album has two instrumentals, one is a 2 minute interlude and the other is a 4 minute outro. The interlude is basically just a time filler that has a decent enough melody and feel, more on the outro later on. The song that it leads into is great, however, the song that is called, "Cathari Sects" the opening riff, vocals and keyboard choirs hit hard and the song never lets up. My favorite part of the track itself is the percussion and keyboards. The outro follows this last song and is a dark and menacing that has a pitch black atmosphere that reminds me of a deep and dangerous dungeon. Overall, a musically great album, that is a little unmemorable at times. This album took me about 3 or 4 listens to really get, but that doesn't make it bad. Now onto the definitely unique and unexpected production from black metal that's definitely not know for being raw.

One thing that I never heard at all was the bass on this album, which I love bass, but in black metal I can forgive not being able to hear it for the most part. The guitars of course are shrill and cold, and sometimes it meshes with the keyboards to make a larger sound. The drums are your average flat and lower sounding affair. Vocals have a reverb to them of course, and are recorded from the other side of a wall. Last but not least, they keyboards are there constantly, and they are louder than the guitars, which can kind of overpower them at times. All in all, the production on this album could be better, it would be better with some louder bass, but other than that it is the average black metal rawness done well

Really there isn't much to talk about when it comes to this album. It's a pretty decent effort, with some great atmosphere and some good ideas, but it doesn't really move me at all. What the album does good, it just does good. While I probably won't listen to this again anytime soon, I can recommend it to fans of Graveland, Emperor and Gehenna as just being an interesting album released in 1994. It isn't amazing, but it's something to get lost in for a little bit. Give it a listen if you're so inclined.

-Nolan

Say what you will about Rob Darken, because while he is a right-wing nutjob, you can't deny that he is a talented musician. One band that Darken was in is Infernum, who released their debut studio album in 1994 titled "...Taur-nu-Fuin...". This album isn't as well known as the Graveland stuff Rob worked on, but this album is actually pretty good for what it's worth. It might not be his best work, but it is pretty clear that with the help of Capricornus and especially Anextiomarus, they can make some great stuff.

One great thing about the album is the instruments. The instrumentation is more primal and raw compared to the few Polish black metal albums out at the time, but it does manage to make the most out of it. The album starts off with some dark synths playing in the background as some chants play along with it. This sets in the mood with a dark and creepy atmosphere, and it gets even bigger as it transitions to the next track "In the Black Clouds of War". The guitars play some fast and chaotic riffs that bring in a disorganized and anxious tone in the track. The drums also beat along with the guitars very well, as it also mixes in some more slower and technical moments in the track. The bass work is also pretty decent, as it sets up a good foundation for the tracks. The instrumentation throughout the album is excellent, but one thing I can't stand is the keyboards. Not that it's bad, as they play some chilling tunes that further enhance the haunting atmosphere, but in tracks like "The Ancient Order", it can be a bit much. While too much keyboards kind of bring down the instruments a bit, they are still great overall.

But what makes this album stand out is the vocals. Anextiomarus does the vocals here, and his voice sounds amazing. His vocals mainly consist of grunts, growls, and gurgling, and that doesn't sound good at first. However, Anextiomarus has an angry and raging personality in them, so his growling sounds more genuine and hateful. One of my favorite vocal moments on this album is in the track "Weltmacht oder Niedergang". There, his vocals take on a more emotional sound, so he does sound sad in some moments, and they are executed beautifully. Not only that, but his voice also flows well to the instruments, as the more epic and sorrowful atmosphere of the instruments flow perfectly with Anextiomarus's vocals. They may not sound that impressive initially, but when you listen to them more closely, you can hear some great emotions in them.

While there isn't much to say about this album, it does have some excellent moments. Sure, the keyboards can be a bit excessive at times, but the rest of the instruments are fantastic, and Anextiomarus has some of his best vocal moments here. The band would release one more album in 2005 before the band split up shortly after Karcharoth's death. Rob Darken would go on to create another version of the band with their only studio album "The Curse", which isn't his best work, and Capricornus would go on to work alongside Graveland and start other band projects like Thor's Hammer and Capricornus, which aren't exactly PC to say the least. But while their short discography can be a bit of a disappointment, "...Taur-nu-Fuin..." easily stands out as the best project they did.

As a big fan of (old) Graveland and an admirer of Capricornus (the project, not the guy), I expected this album to be great. Unfortunately it is not - it's rather boring, but one step at a time.

The introduction (the best track of the whole album in my oppinion) creates exactly the occult and majestically dark atmosphere that I was hoping to find, but after this glorious first minute, the first song starts and it feels like being torn from a nice dream by an alarm clock. The rest of the album (with the exception of "Meine Ehre heisst Treue", which atmospherically reminds of old Burzum or Isengard) will sound all the same: imagine early Graveland without the dynamic drive (that has been one of their trademarks), replace the sinister riffs and dark atmosphere by...hmm...well, just imagine there are no sinister riffs and therefore no dark atmosphere. Instead of black metal you get keyboard metal - CHEAP keyboard metal!!!

The dominance of the keys condemn the guitar lines to sound weak and hollow. The vocals could really use some...well, vocals - they sound like a sore attempt to try to sound grim (yes, I have written attempt to try to sound, that is correct) with no power at all. How about recognizing the lyrics? Okay, it's music by the "Darken-clan", so we do not expect to understand a single English word, but in this case you can hardly tell if there is a proper language used or just "rrrraaaaooorrr, grrrrrrr...."

So why 60%? Because my description focuses only on the bad and disappointing aspects of this album - the three Polish grimsters still play their instruments with acceptable accuracy, the music can please a listener if that listener is in a rather chilling mood, and some (!) passages remind me of Graveland's weaker black metal recordings.

Just take my review as a warning if you are expecting a second "Carpathian Wolves" or another experience as raw as the predecessing demo of Infernum.

With the release of the “Damned Majesty” demo Infernum became one of the leaders of the early 90s Polish black metal scene. The full-length “...Taur-Nu-Fuin...” was recorded the following year with the help of Rob Darken and Capricornus, both Graveland members at the time. This album continues the style of “Damned Majesty” but the production is better.

“...Taur-Nu-Fuin...” is also one of the first black metal albums with NS leanings. I haven’t seen the re-release by Supernal Music but on the original version (which I’m reviewing) there is a statement written by Capricornus calling for among other things a return to and defence of Aryan pride and values. This statement and song titles such as “Gammadion”, “Weltmacht oder Niedergang” and “Meine Ehre Heisst Treue” caused some controversy in the scene.

The music here is truly amazing: hateful, aggressive and melancholic black metal with a heavy early Graveland influence. If you like the early releases by Graveland, Veles and Behemoth, then this album is mandatory! Synths (courtesy of Rob Darken) are used almost constantly on this album and most of the time they follow the guitar riffs. Here Rob uses a different kind of synth sound than the cold one he used on e.g. “The Celtic Winter” and “Carpathian Wolves”. This synth sound is a kind of choir effect, which gives the music a very eerie feeling and creates a foggy backdrop for the riffs. It feels like the music is floating in the air, enveloping the listener and creating visions of ancient dark forests, pagan battles and witchcraft. The combination of the riffs and the synths was what really attracted me to this album, it sounds so mystical and pagan. Anextiomarus’ vocals also deserve praise, he screams and rasps like a ferocious wolf out for blood.

Even the intro to this album has a great effect on me. It begins with synths and some strange backward voices speaking. These are suddenly joined by a group of people chanting “Satan!” in a fanatic manner. It may not sound that special when describing it in a review but trust me, this is a very good intro and it makes me feel the taste of blood in my mouth... it’s time for war! I recommend playing this intro LOUD. After the intro abruptly cuts off (a fadeout would’ve suited better I think), “In the Black Clouds of War” takes the listener straight out into the battlefields. This track is for sure an Infernum classic, mostly fast with a relentless thrash beat from Capricornus during the verses. The calm parts of this track are spiced with some clean guitar. “The Ancient Order” makes good use of the foggy keyboard backdrop, the keyboards are very prominent on this track. Capricornus also uses some of his “tribal” drum beats (made famous on Graveland albums such as “Thousand Swords”) on this song.

“Gammadion” is an excellent mid-tempo track and also the longest track on the album. This track is drenched in sorrow and melancholy. The mournful synths and some calm parts enhance the melancholy aspect in this song. During the calm parts there’s only guitar riffing, vocals and some ravens croaking in the background. “Meine Ehre Heisst Treue” is a pretty short guitar & bass only instrumental, not bad though. Drummer Capricornus performs decently on this album overall. However, on “Cathari Sects” his drumming is clearly a bit sloppy at times and this makes the track more chaotic than it otherwise would have been. Had Infernum’s ex-drummer Tom Balrog played on this album it would have turned out even better I’m sure. It’s the drumming that prevents me from giving this otherwise very good album a rating of 90 or more.

“...Taur-Nu-Fuin...” is one of the most important Polish black metal releases of the early 90s and it still sounds damn impressive. It breathes that special primordial black metal spirit that cannot be found on any mainstream black metal release. This is by the underground, for the underground.