Inferi
Inferi
[Black Arts]


4 tracks, 16:35

Recorded in the winter of '93/'94, we have the obscure only release of Inferi, apparently a Funeral Winds side project of some sort. This should appeal to Darkthrone fans, as this sounds eerily close to "Transilvanian Hunger" at some points which is fairly remarkable considering that album wasn't released yet when "Inferi" was recorded. Most of the material found here is not as minimal as TH though, alternating full-on blasts with midpaced sections in the traditional fashion. Overall, this short mCD sounds very typical '92-'94 "True Norwegian Black Metal" with that trademark demo-sound we all know and love, but as this style has been played to death for the last eight years by everyone and his dog, Inferi doesn't have the impact today that it probably had in '95. The three gentlemen Y.Xul, H.Xul and I.Xul would not likely win any Nobel Peace Prize (or any literary prize for that matter) with lyrics like "The holocaust draws near/as the winds carry along/ashes of the dead/destruction of the human race", but you'll get the idea: nihilism, hatred, war and occultism are the key themes here. Packaging can be described as 'basic': lyrics, tracklist, lineup, logo - all in black and white. By no means an essential purchase, yet a solid release by today's standards and a great release in its time. I've got no idea whether "Inferi" is still in print, but I highly doubt it as I'm pretty sure Black Arts has gone belly-up after the Sacrilegium/North split.


© 2000 sybren