Taranis
The Obscurity
The Sign of Garazel/Luciforus Art 2008
Two
labels, The Sign of Garazel and Luciforus Art, both of which
have seen fit to rerelease the 1992 debut demo/album from Polish
black metallers Taranis and I must say they made a wise decision.
If you are a fan, like I am, of the mystical morbidity of
Samael's debut, Worship Him, then you will absolutely crawl on your
hands and knees at hearing this album. After an appropriately
obscure sounding intro, The Dark Warriors rises like an ebon serpent
from an ibex pool, slow riffs uncoil and monstrous echoing vocals paint
a truly occult atmosphere. Fire Absorbs The Earth continues to
burn with the same creeping intensity of the previous track with some
Hellhammer-ish riffs thrown into the deadly concoction as well.
Slow, methodical plodding and quirky riffs bring to mind passages
from Hellhammer's Buried and Forgotten composition. Jacques'
vocals sound truly demonic in their unfeeling intensity. The
Thundering increases the tempo slightly as it alternates between a
snail's pace to a lethargic gallop. A constant rumbling power
gurgling out of the guitars and drums is accented by haunting synths
which forms the core of the next track, Elizabeth. Doom for Death
further melds the gruff throb of Hellhammer's guitars and the hissing
frost of Samael's riffing as the track ascends from the void into a
monochorme universe of occult mysticism. To further cement the
musical connection to the Swiss underlords, Taranis features a faithful
rendition of Samael's Into the Pentagram. Taranis' debut is a
cold and brooding album of magickal morbidity. An atmosphere of
true evil resonates from it's every fiber. The Obscurity is an
album that conjured only images of blackness, unlight.