Anno Domini

While black metal is a musical style that is often built around trying to sound as evil as possible, there's not many bands that truly feel that evil. So many of them just end up sounding campy, regardless of the how good their music might be. Tormentor, on the other hand, is a band that carries an aura of genuine menace and darkness around them. Maybe it's the recording style, maybe it's the music, but there's something about them that puts them ahead of the pack.

"Anno Domini," their 1989 demo that was didn't end up being officially released as an album, is a product of its time in that it sounds like a bridge between the disparate styles of the first wave of black metal, and the more extreme second wave sound that has become synonymous with the genre. Like many other first wave bands, Tormentor's riffing style has a thrashy style, but they have a more atmospheric sound than most, playing wildly dissonant strings of notes at the end of a riff to illustrate the chaotic scenes that Attila Csihar shrieks about. There's none of Venom's sleazy, alcohol-sodden charm, this is a whole other beast. The solos tend to be pretty unhinged and wild, but bits of melody often peak through and give them a more traditional feel, like on the instrumental piece "Lyssa," which is built around eerie guitar melodies and flashy soloing.

The song "Tormentor I" pretty much sums up everything there is to love about the album. The main riff is both drilling and catchy, the drums carry loads of aggression, and there's even a guitar harmony section that calls to mind bands like Iron Maiden. Attila's screams are fantastic, and are a key part of what makes Tormentor sound ahead of their time, building upon singers like Quorthon to develop a more extreme style. The vocals are easily one of the strongest parts of this album, and succeed in making the music sound genuinely evil and misanthropic.

Although most of the album carries on at a breakneck pace, some of the best moments are when the band brings the tempo down a notch. "Elizabeth Bathory," Tormentor's most iconic song, never goes beyond a mid tempo crawl, but this works to the band's advantage, letting the musical air out a bit, and with the use of some clean guitar sections, you've got yourself a black metal classic. Likewise, "Beyond" maintains a slow chugging pace, and the eerie choral sounds in the background take the song to the next level.

For a group of teenagers without the ability to put out an album, "Anno Domini" is a true black metal classic, and deserves your listen.

This Album, Anno Domini, (which can be loosely translated as "year domains" in Latin) was a demo tape that was relaesed by the Hungarian band Tormentor. The band could not release this in their own country due to communism not allowing it so it was sent to Norway to be released as so with the previous demo "The Seventh Day of Doom." It gained massive cult status in Norway and thus got the band marked in the scene. But tuely this album is awesome and gives so much more than one can imagine for its time. It is probably one of the greatest first wave of black metal albums in the 80s. It goes to key names like Bathory, Celtic Frost, Sodom, Sarcofago, etc.

Now this album is full of wonders and ruthlessly fast paced music so brutal it could turn your ears into masochists that year for the brutality to return again and again. The album starts off with an intro that is basically an instrumental track that acts as a metal cover to the theme music of the classic horror film "Phantasm." After a short time it ends it goes to the song "Tormentor I" which in my opinion is the greatest song on the album. Its fast, brutal, and mindlessly ferocious beyond belief!! The drums blast themselves to smitherines and the guitar riff shreds like crazy. By the way, on this album the lead singer is Attila Cshnir, Who would then be the lead vocalist for the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem on their album "De mysteriis Dom. Sathanas." And to add on his death shrieaking, death growling, and tortured screams perfectly go with the band as a whole. The guitar solo is awesome and becomes very extreme and only gets faster as the song continues. The it unfortunately ends,... but the the blast beats and shredding guitars return in the next song "Heaven" which is nothing but ruthless blast beating drums and ever so speedy guitar riffs and solos. Then a song theat highlights the opus of the album is "Elizabeth Bathory." A song that fully pays tribute to the Hungarian blood countess who to this day reigns enthroned as the most evil woman in the world in all of criminology. The song features a slow and epic approach which sounds a lot like a mix of mid year Bathory and Emperor. its dark and sinster and romantic in its own sense like the idea of being in love with her and feeling her breathe. It is the longest song here but probably one of the most distinctive songs due to its use of synthetics and choirs.

Then other songs like "Damned Grave" "In Gate of Hell" "Translyvania" and "Tormentor II" return with the tradition ruthless blast beating drums harsh guitar riffs and tend to have a variation of paces going from death/ doom based slow to super fast speed metal/ black metal based parts. The songs are none of the less amazing and superb but i feel like it goes through too qickly have the time and then one begins to forgrt which track they are on. Then there is the song "Trance" which is kind of like a mind-rape song that goes from deep sinister voices to ghoulish laughter and then to death shrieking and death growling. Its short and creepy, yet really fast like the rest of the tracks.Then there is "Beyond" which was a song that had returned the dark eerie epicness like in "Elizabeth Bathory" using the synthesized choirs and slower refined drumming (with its occational rolls and fills) and deep bass and heavy guitar riffs and an outstanding solo too. The pace changes going from fast to slow but still maintains the epic feel and awe that the band managed to successfully pull off. Then there is the song "Apocalypse" which acts as a thrashy black metal like solo in the beginning nut then turns to this hard rock orientated feel once the singer comes in to shriek like mad. Again, more like filler, but one can do anything in a demo tape so it matters not and is still a good song. Then there is the instrumental track "Lyssa" which is no more than two minutes in length but it shows what the band is truly capable of in entertaining the listener without the usage of vocals. It basically acts as a rehersal track but it shows the true potential each musician had and to put it to opus. Finally, there is the last song "Anno Domini" which is basically the outro of the demo. The song starts out with the guitar cover of "Phantasm" once again and evil laughter can be heard, then all goes quiet for a secong until the drums sound and all one hears is basically mindless screaming and growling of the name of the album title.

Overall, this album is awesome and is of much worthy of listening to. For those that really like the whole 1st wave of black metal bands, then defiantely add these ruthless hellions to your collection. I love this band and just the band title of Tormentor sounds so brutal and they truly meet up with the divine meaning of their band name through the music they play. The main concept of this album emphasizes alot on dark Hungarian legends and tales of history as well as violence, fears of hell, darkness and evil; and even the ideal perception and complexity of the mind and thought. Give this album a chance and in no time you'll find yourself listening to it frequently more than ever. It makes you want to beat shit up and go insane and has a lot of power to it and its message. And if you love Mayhem and are a huge fan of their debut album where this singer did vocals for, then you'll love this especially if you are a fan of Cshnir yourself. But yeah, do what you can to get a hold of this record at all cost because it is awesome, epic, and goddamn brutal as fuck!!!!

Absolute fucking insanity. That's really all that needs to be said about Tormentor's "Anno Domini" demo. There's a reason that this record is held in such high regards in the metal underground, whether you're of the belief that this demo was incredibly influential or you feel that's just a rehash of stuff done by bands that came before such as Bathory, Mayhem (A band that Chisar would soon work with on the legendary "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"), Sodom or Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, this music is a destructive force that all falses should avoid. If you fall into the latter camp of people, then you really must get your ears checked because, while there is some definite similarities in style, Tormentor are easily one of the more unique bands of the bunch due to the technical proficiency shown throughout these 13 tracks.

Wait, technicality and sloppy black/thrash? Surely I must be jesting, but of course not, these Hungarian vandals were very talented with their instruments because in the midst of the sheer aggression and fuddled atmosphere there are brilliant melodies that are strung throughout, acoustic sections that have a classical feel and of course there are some phenomenal solos. But, the vast majority of this demo is dedicated to sounding evil and ripping flesh with riffs that are razor sharp. The riffs range from crazy hammer-on-ridden ones like the ones found on "Heaven" (the best song on this demo by the way) and "Tormentor II" to midpaced stompers such as the ones found on "In Gate of Hell" and "Beyond" to the venomous thrash riffs and tremolos like those featured on "Tormentor I" and "Apocalypse."

Like I said, there's more to "Anno Domini" than just crazy riffs, there's some great variety here. "Lyssa" is a technical, yet blasphemous instrumental that mesmerizes as well as slays. "Trance" and "Elisabeth Bathory" both mix up the clean guitars with the distortion for an eerie and evil atmosphere that will send chills down your spine. And, of course the other instruments all deliver here, with the drumming reaching top speeds that send the music into frantic paces while also spewing out great fills left and right. The bassist manages to keep up with all of the manic music perfectly and also has some terrific fills. Then there are the vocals which might actually be the highlight of Tormentor's music, as the legendary Attila Chisar's vile rasps (very similar to Quorthon and "Angelripper") conjure up a violent storm that is equivalent to the ferocity of the music itself. To sum everything up in a sentence, "Anno Domini" is a goddamn masterpiece where everything works perfectly together and if you find yourself not liking this demo then you need to be burned and died.

Highlights
"Tormentor I"
"Heaven"
"Apocalypse"

Originally written for Nightmare Reality Webzine.
nightmarerealitywebzine.blogspot.com

It's no secret that Tormentor was the band to give Attila Csihar to the world of metal, not to mention one of the prime examples of a band that effortlessly bridged the gap between the first and second waves of black metal. This album was worshipped by pretty much all of the early bands in the second wave of black metal, much in the way that early Sodom, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom were, but in my opinion, 'Anno Domini' had that certain edge of feral thrashy ferocity that gave them the nod on the grounds of sheer extremity around the time of its release.

Opening with those much loved notes stolen from the Phantasm movie (as Entombed also… erm… borrowed for their outro on the song 'Left Hand Path' a year or two later), the album begins with a kick to the teeth in the way of 'Tormentor I', soaked in a morbid, freezing atmosphere that seemed to slowly seep into the listener throughout the albums run time, like only the classic albums can (see 'De Mysteriis Dom Satanas' for another perfect example of this). As with a lot of early black metal, this is heavily influenced by Thrash and Speed metal, with barbed riffs whipping past your ears at a rate of knots, with Attila's mad barks and howls coated in a thick Hungarian accent helping him to sound completely unhinged (you can almost here the spit and bile hitting the microphone as he belts out his lyrics). This, alongside the runaway freight train that is the crazed drum work and aforementioned molten riffage makes for a package no black metaller could turn away from.

So, in a nutshell, this is raw as hell, bitter and evil black metal which ranks up there with the best of them. It is brimming with youthful enthusiasm, inventiveness and most importantly – malevolence, which coupled with the fact that it boasts a series of seriously classic tunes (see Elisabeth Bathory, Tormentor I, Transylvania etc), it makes it a must have for any black metal fan's collection.

Originally written for www.metalcrypt.com

Evil, that's the first thing that comes to mind whenever you spin this disc. Pure fucking evil. There's just something about it, the frantic thrashy riffs, the dark sounding muddy production, the raspy thickly accented vocals. It all meshes together to create a generally creepy atmosphere. I'm not a fan of black metal myself, but this album doesn't sound like other black metal albums that I've heard. It's very thrashy and frantic, constantly changing, there's even a bit of diversity to be found here. It really sounds a lot like mid 80's Bathory, early Sodom, or Destruction.

There is a surprising amount of melody for such a raw and intense album, some of the songs are down right catchy. Another surprising aspect is the technicality of the guitar playing, some of the leads and solos are quite impressive. But perhaps most surprising of all are the vocals of Attila. It's a far cry from the grunting and crooning he did on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas that would be the subject of some ridicule. On this album Attila uses a traditional raspy snarl, he actually sounds a bit like Tom Angelripper.

Some songs are too fast for their own good, and the production isn't great so that doesn't help. Some of the fast songs end up being a muddy mess, but others shine. "Damned Grave" is very thrashy, and the main riff is truly awesome. The solo is melodic and very well done. I love the last verse, and right at the end when Attila snarls "Haunt in Transylvaniaaaa!!!" "Apocalypse" is another great thrasher, this one is really wild and reminds me of something off of Death Angel's Ultra Violence, with those flashy riffs. Attila's grasp on the English language isn't exactly tight, and the word apocalypse comes out more like "Abba glyss!" Which is quite charming yet evil at the same time. "Beyond" slows the pace down a lot, but it's very effective. A steady marching rhythm, with some backing choir vocals. The solo in this one is simply bad ass, it sounds very eerie and melodic, I wouldn't be surprised if their guitar player had classical training.

The highlight of the album though is "Elisabeth Bathory" which is both hauntingly evil yet comical at the same time. It's another slower paced tune, with a marching rhythm. And yes, it's a love song to the Blood Countess herself. "Oh how I love to feel your breath, I'd love to be the lover of death" oh man that is just fucking awesome. A very haunting song with a surprisingly catchy chorus. Other songs like "Trance" and "Tormentor" are solid thrashers, but songs like "Heaven" and "In Gate of Hell" are marred by the poor production and just sound like a wall of noise.

A surprisingly good album, one that I never would have expected to like, but I ended up falling in love with it. Anyone looking for some old school intense shit should check this one out. I would say this is without a doubt the most evil sounding album I've ever heard.

This release is definitely one of the most influential black metal albums of all time, ranking alongside classics such as Black Metal, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, A Blaze in the Northern Sky (Which I prefer to Transilvanian Hunger), Morbid Tales, Blood Fire Death and others.

The moment the first notes of the atmospheric intro hit, you know you're in for one hell of a ride. Melodies combined with aggression and some pretty heavy songwriting create an unparallelled atmosphere, which was not unheard of in the early nineties. But we are talking 1988 here, and for 1988 this was extreme metal innovation at its finest. Mayhem were punishing our ears with their noisy demos and mini LP, Bathory were growing strong and... Well, that's pretty much it.

The rhythm section thunders forth and gives awesome support to the guitars and vocals, so no complaints here.

The guitars are amazing. Blazing power chords, the occasional Possessed-influenced riff and striking melodies come out of the speakers during the whole album. The guitar work itself is quite good, with razor-sharp leads piercing the ears of the listener more often that one would expect from a black metal band.

The vocals. This time we're treated to a more traditional approach to black metal than on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Attila's vocals are harsher and fit Tormentor's music better, however his performance on De Mysteriis... was also groundbreaking and breath-taking. The rasps truly evoke a cold, almost ethereal atmosphere while his Hungarian accent adds to the "evil" factor of the album. Flawless performance.

Now onto the only point of the album that slightly bothers me- The production. While I don't blame the band for this since recording doesn't come cheap, it would sound better if it was clearer. It's still better than the intentionally crappy production every modern black metal band tries to steal from Darkthrone. Anyway, I'm sure that Tormentor couldn't really do anything about the slightly unclear sound and did the best they could in that time and place.

So, the conclusion: This record is an innovation in the world of black metal, a term that basically stopped existing after the first half of the nineties was through. A true masterpiece, yet a bad representation of its time. Why? 'Cause Tormentor were leagues ahead.

Sometimes, when I listen to albums considered “essential”, “influential” or better “innovator”, I reflect on the music done, related to the year of creation and if other bands did something like this before. I did this also to the first Tormentor’s album “Anno Domini” and surely I cannot say that this album contains the words I used before.

We are, with this album, in 1988 and lots of bands did the same thing in the past years or did even more…this album musically is a raw thrash/speed one and the only influences for black metal can be found in the vocal lines or in few riffs…well, not enough if we compare this album to the Bathory’s ones for example! Quorthon between 1984 and 1986 has released three albums that belongs to the history: he wanted to play death metal but the black influences in those albums are always a trademark. Let’s think also to early Mayhem with “Deathcrush” (1987) or mighty Possessed in 1985!!!

Even Necrodeath in my country in 1987 released an album that has become a worldwide cult under the flag of a violent black/thrash…but in “Anno Domini” we have not black metal in my opinion! Sincerely I don’t know why this album is considered so “important”…ok, it’s a quite good piece of raw thrash but nothing else in my opinion. The violence shown in “Tormentor I” song is classic of the German thrash while the riffage on the “Heaven” song is a bit chaotic. The “Elisabeth Bathory” song is a bit better structured with more evil mid tempos and some keyboards.

More or less the album is based on up tempos for the drum and fast parts for the guitars. Another problem I found is that the songwriting level is not so good, and even being raw, it has not epic (memorable, good) moments. There are just few good refrains and sometimes the boredom replaces the curiosity I had for this album.

“Damned Grave” contains some good death/thrash riff but sometimes a bit common and a quite good, shredded solo (very Slayer oriented). The very short intro to “In Gate Of Hell” (like also in “Apocalypse” songs) takes inspiration from early Black Sabbath and the refrains on those songs are pretty evil and sick. “Tormentor II” first riffs is one of the best thing here; very fast but always in extreme thrash style.

All in all a quite good extreme thrash album, with a chaotic production and surely not exceptional songs. All the “black” that you can find here is focused on the vocals…nothing more. There are several more important albums out there in my opinion.

Out of my extensive metal collection, this CD gets the most play from me. The most evil, thrashy peice of black metal is what you get with this release. Attila Csihar has one of the most original vocals in black metal. Being Hungarian and all, I can really hear the thick accent that just gives off a truly evil vibe. As most bands feel obligated to pay tribute to the almighty Countess Bathory, so does Tormentor. Relatively slow compared to the rest of the album, the song gives off a majestic and evil feeling. The vocal style is consistent through and through as does the music. There's a few speed breaks here and there. The most noticeable is on track 9 "Trance". Starts out with an evil laugh and then goes straight into a speed break. It reminds me of Venom. Everything is nicely done. The production is raw, but not like it was recorded over a telephone line into a 8track like most black metal bands today (which I don't get why so many people enjoy). You can tell that I used the adjective EVIL a lot during this review, and I want to emphasize that Tormentor pulls it off very well. This a required album for any black metal fan. If you like evil, (not ultra) raw, "old-school" black metal, then you will definately enjoy this. Although this is quite hard to find now, not because it's so exclusive and limited like the LLN(where everything has a monetary value of 100+ dollars) but because people don't want to part with such a legendary release. Tormentor is priceless.